1. 650,000 Years of Greenhouse Gas Concentrations from an Antarctic Ice Core
T.F. Stocker, U. Siegenthaler, R. Spahni
and the Bern and LGGE Teams
Papers:
Spahni et al. (2003, GRL): 8.2 kyr event in CH4
Monnin et al. (2004, EPSL): synchronisation Taylor Dome and Dome C
Siegenthaler et al. (2004, Tellus): last 1000 years
Flückiger et al. (2004, GBC): N2O during stage 3
© J. Flückiger 2002

2. GRIP Greenland Ice Sheet Project (1989 - 1993)
NGRIP
GRIP
GRIP Greenland Ice Sheet Project ( )
EPICA DML
EPICA Dome C
EPICA European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica ( )

3. Deep drillings on polar ice sheets:

4. m m
-45°C, 2892 m asl
6.4 cm(H2O)/yr
total: m ice
~ 890‘000 years
-54°C, 3233 m asl
2.5 cm(H2O)/yr

5. Greenland: ~120,000 years Antarctica: ~890,000 years accumulation melt
Alter
Tiefe
flowlines
Greenland: ~120,000 years
Antarctica: ~890,000 years

6. bubbles in the ice contain air samples at time of closure

9. Dome Concordia (Antarctica): 740,000 years of climate change
WARM
WARM ??
COLD
(EPICA Members, 2004)

10. (Petit et al., 1999)

11. DCH4 ?? DT CH4 and temperature 450‘000 years ago
(Spahni et al., unpub.)

12. DCO2 ?? DT MIS 11 MIS 12 MIS 13 CO2 and temperature 450‘000 years ago
(Siegenthaler et al., unpub.)

13. given S0(t), TAnt, dust, h(t) , marine sediments, ...
PREDICT pCO2 (t) , pCH4 (t) before 420 kyr BP
Wolff et al., 2004, EOS 85, 363

14. pre-Vostok CO2 and CH4 Siegenthaler et al., (in prep.)
Spahni et al. (in prep.)

15. Implications of ice core measurements for the current debate on greenhouse gas concentrations ?

16. CO2 during the last 50 years
(NOAA 2004)

17. CO2 and CH4 during the last 1000 years
(NOAA 2004)

18. CO2 higher than ever during the last 650,000 years
(Petit et al, 1999, Bern, NOAA)

19. The atmospheric CO2 concentration is 27% higher than ever during the last 650,000 years — and continues to increase