Continuous-depth analysis of soluble greenhouse gases in ice cores

The current state-of-the-art in ice core analysis involves measuring the chemistry of water and air continuously as a stick of ice core is slowly melted. This method has proven highly effective for methane and has produced unprecedented records at centimetre-scale resolution. However, carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas, and nitrous oxide cannot yet be measured in this way, which limits the detail we can resolve.

This project aims to develop a new method to efficiently extract carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide from a continuous stream of melted ice core. A range of factors impacting the degree of dissolution will be systematically tested and optimised. Tests will be carried out on selected Antarctic ice core samples with different greenhouse gas levels to demonstrate the reliability of this innovative method relative to traditional techniques. This exploratory work pushes for a breakthrough in the way that greenhouse gases in ice cores are measured. An online, continuous, method that enables high-resolution measurements of the three major greenhouse gases would revolutionise ice core science. This work aims to enable a significant scale shift in scientific studies of carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.