Seasonal variability in the origin of recent atmospheric mineral dust at NorthGRIP, Greenland

Isotopic (Sr and Nd) and mineralogical analyses of dust extracted from snow deposits from the last decade at the NorthGRIP, Greenland, ice camp (75.1degreesN, 042.3degreesW) confirm the eastern Asian source for Greenland dust and extend it to the present day. The 1998 and 1999 samples, which represent a similar to2.4 month resolution of dust deposition, show that there are at least two east Asian sources for the Greenland dust that vary seasonally. The provenance of dust during the major, spring/summer deposition is the Takla Makan desert of northwest China. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.