Solar Energy News  
ICE WORLD
The Greenland ice sheet contains nutrients from precipitation
by Staff Writers
Copenhagen, Denmark (SPX) Nov 06, 2015


Phosphorus that fell with precipitation can be measured in the ice cores that are drilled through the more than 2 0.5 kilometers thick ice sheet at the NEEM project in northwestern Greenland. Image courtesy North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling Project (NEEM). For a larger version of this image please go here.

New research shows that the ice sheet on Greenland contains the nutrient phosphorus, which was carried by the atmosphere across the country, where it fell with precipitation. Studies of the ice core drilling through the kilometers-thick ice sheet shows that there are differences in the amount of phosphorus in warm and cold climate periods.

This new knowledge is important for understanding how many nutrients can be expected to flow into the Arctic Ocean when the climate warms and the ice melts and flows into the sea, where nutrients give rise to increased algae growth. The results have been published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.

Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for plant growth in nature and as a fertilizer for food production. 30 percent of all biological systems rely on phosphorus and nitrate. Nutrients that are not taken up by plants can get washed out into streams and further into the ocean.

In addition, phosphorus from the atmosphere is carried to the deep seas, far from land, in the form of precipitation with dust particles. When the sun heats the ocean, some of the water evaporates and rises up into the atmosphere, forming clouds. The clouds can reach an altitude of up to 15 kilometers and they disperse across the entire globe.

Precipitation and dust storms
When the clouds fall as precipitation, it also contains some of the substances, for example, the phosphorus that was in the ocean and this can be measured in the ice cores that are drilled through the more than 2.5 kilometers thick ice sheet at the NEEM project in northwestern Greenland. Because the ice is formed by the snow that falls year after year and remains and is gradually compressed into ice, you can get information about past climate and the nutrient content of the precipitation.

But the oceans are not the only contributors of phosphorus. On Earth, there are sometimes great storms that blow dust from dry areas up into the atmosphere, where it spreads across the globe and falls, including on Greenland. The dust also contains phosphorus. Everything that comes down from the atmosphere can be measured in the ice cores.

"We have analysed the ice from different periods between the ice age and the present. We look at what the total content of phosphorus is and how much of the phosphorus is comprised of the special ion PO43- - called phosphate, which is biologically soluble. Both the amounts of phosphorus and the ratio between the two variants, phosphorus and phosphate, tell us something about the atmospheric transport of nutrients," explains Helle Astrid Kjaer, a postdoc at the Centre for Ice and Climate at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen.

Most phosphorus in cold periods
The last ice age lasted about 100,000 years and ended about 12,000 years ago, but there were great variations in temperature during the ice age. The analyses show that the amount of phosphorus was greatest during the glacial maximum about 25,000 years ago and they discovered similarly high levels in other cold periods, while the warm periods during the ice age had 10 times lower the content of phosphorus.

"Much of the phosphorus we find in the cold periods is linked to the dust that comes in from the large dust storms. We can see this because it primarily involves the form of phosphate that is not as biodegradable," explains Helle Astrid Kjaer.

But they can also see that when there are large volcanic eruptions spewing tons of ash and sulphur far up into the atmosphere, then the atmosphere becomes more acidic and then the phosphorus dissolves into the dust from the dust storms and becomes more soluble and thus more biologically available. You see this, for example, in connection with the large Icelandic Laki eruption in 1783 and in 1816 with the Tambora eruption in Indonesia.

Measurements from the period 1770-1820 also show phosphorus, but with a higher ratio of the special ion PO43- - called phosphate, which is biodegradable. The phosphate is bound together with particles in the atmosphere from large forest fires, while the phosphorus comes from dust.

"Measurements from 1930-2004, on the other hand, do not show large amounts of phosphorus and phosphate and this is very surprising, because we use a lot of manure and burn refuse, which can result in large amounts of phosphorus in nature, but it evidently has not reached northern Greenland in precipitation," explains Helle Astrid Kjaer.

The nutrient content of the ice is important in a time when we are facing global warming that could mean that large parts of the Greenland ice sheet will melt and flow into the sea. Large amounts of nutrients could lead to an increased growth of algae in the Arctic Ocean.

The research, however, which was done in collaboration with researchers from Japan and Italy, does not look alarming.

"The amounts of phosphorus and phosphate we have measured are not high compared to the level we normally see in the ocean, but because the ice primarily melts in the spring and summer when the algae are growing and have already used much of the nutrients in the surface water, the level of melt water could lead to an increased growth of algae in the Arctic Ocean," says Helle Astrid Kjaer.

Article: Greenland ice cores constrain glacial atmospheric fluxes of phosphorus


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
University of Copenhagen - Niels Bohr Institute
Beyond the Ice Age






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ICE WORLD
Satellites shed light on Greenland Ice Sheet response to warming
Edinburgh, UK (SPX) Nov 02, 2015
Parts of Greenland's ice sheet have been found to be less vulnerable to climate warming than was thought - a discovery that could have a small but beneficial impact on sea level forecasts. Satellite images have revealed that despite dramatic increases in ice melt across Greenland in recent years, the speed of ice movement in some areas has slowed down rather than accelerated. The fin ... read more


ICE WORLD
Vast energy value in human waste

Chesapeake Bay Seed Capital Fund invests $150,000 in Manta Biofuel

US Ethanol Producers Looking at Thin Profit Margins for 2015-16

Determining greenhouse gas reductions for varying forms of bioenergy

ICE WORLD
How sensorimotor intelligence may develop

Robot's influent speaking just to get attention from you

'Spring-mass' technology heralds the future of walking robots

Dive of the RoboBee

ICE WORLD
Scotland hosting new type of offshore wind program

E.ON finishes German wind farm

Adwen and IWES sign agreement for the testing of 8MW turbine

US has fallen behind in offshore wind power

ICE WORLD
Making cars of the future stronger, using less energy

Moody's downgrades VW as toll from emissions scandal grows

Nissan boosts annual outlook on new models, N.America sales

VW suspends sales of US diesel models; Moody's cuts rating

ICE WORLD
Tech-sharing key to success of climate summit: France

Japan's lofty 'hydrogen society' vision hampered by cost

China raises coal use figure by hundreds of millions of tonnes

Taiwan Unveils the Eco-Power Station

ICE WORLD
Chemical complexity promises improved structural alloys for next-gen nuclear energy

Bechtel Applauds Successful Licensing of Second Reactor at Watts Bar Nuclear Plant

Success in Selling Nuclear Energy Increases Russia's Political Influence

Areva says Chinese nuclear company could take stake under terms of draft deal

ICE WORLD
U.S., China lead in emissions, IEA finds

Up to 400 bn euros needed for clean EU energy grid by 2050: study

National contributions provide entry point for the low-carbon transformation

Climate pledges keep 'door open' to warming under 2C

ICE WORLD
Peru creates huge national park in Amazon basin

OECD warns Brazil on environment, economy risks

After 5,000 years, Britian's Fortingall Yew is turning female

Amazonian natives had little impact on land, new research finds









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.