Year: 2025
Type: preprint
Abstract: We present a unique atmospheric chemistry record from the highest ice core ever recovered (8020 m, South Col Glacier (SCG), Mt. Everest), that captures ~400 years of deposition during the latter half of the first millennium BCE. Due to recent glacier thinning, the upper ~2000 years of accumulation have been lost, however, this is the only ice core record ever recovered from the “Death Zone (>8000 m)” and likely the only record that can be attained. Insights from this 10m deep record and comparison with an ice core we recovered on the north side of Mt. Everet include: an estimated lapse rate of water isotopes at extreme elevations; the influence of southerly and northerly source air masses on precipitation, dusts and overall atmospheric chemistry over Mt. Everest; and possibly the earliest influences of human activity on the chemistry of the atmosphere in this region.
DOI: 10.31223/x50x7c
Authors: Mariusz Potocki, Paul Mayewski
Institution: University of Maine
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
OpenAlex ID: W4413375120