Provenance of dust to Antarctica: a lead isotopic perspective

S GILI; D. M. GAIERO; SL GOLDSTEIN; CHEMALE, F.; KOESTNER, E.; JASON JWEDA; VALLELONGA PAUL, ; KAPLAN, MICHAEL

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION

Año: 2016 vol. 43 p. 1 - 8

0094-8276

Antarctic ice preserves an ~800 kyr record of dust activity in the Southern Hemisphere. Majorefforts have been dedicated to elucidate the origin of this material in order to gain greater insight into theatmospheric dust cycle. On the basis of Pb isotopes in Antarctic dust samples and potential sources, thiscontribution demonstrates for the first time that Patagonia is the main contributor of dust to Antarctica duringinterglacial periods as well as glacials, although the potential importance of Tierra del Fuego remains unclearbecause of its geochemical similarities to Patagonia. An important new finding is that the Puna-Altiplano sectorof the continent is a second important dust source to eastern Antarctica during both glacials and interglacials,being more prominent during interglacials. The data indicate South America is the primary dust source toAntarctica during both glacials and interglacials.