Accumulation variability derived from an ice core from coastal Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

A 100 m long ice core was retrieved from the coastal area of Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica, in the 2000/01 austral summer. The core was dated to AD 1737 by identification of volcanic horizons in dielectrical profiling and electrical conductivity measurement records in combination with seasonal layer counting from high-resolution oxygen isotope (8180) data. A mean long-term accumulation rate of 0.29m a(-1) w.e. was derived from the high-resolution 5,80 record as well as accumulation rates during periods in between the identified volcanic horizons. A statistically significant decrease in accumulation was found from about 1920 to the present. A comparison with other coastal ice cores from DML suggests that this is a regional pattern.