Name:              Stefanie Weißbach
Institute:          Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research
Department:    Glaciology
Phone:             +49-(0)471-4831-1967

Email:              stefanie.weissbach(at)awi.de
Web link:         http://www.awi.de/en/research/research_divisions/geosciences/glaciology/

 

PhD-project title: Spatial and temporal variability of accumulation and aerosol input in North Greenland

The new deep ice core drilled in Northwest Greenland within the NEEM project (North Greenland Eemian Ice Drilling) offers a unique possibility to study the climate in Northern Greenland over the past more than 100 000 years. A set of shallow (10-15 m) and inter-mediate (100-150 m) depth firn cores drilled during the North Greenland traverse (NGT) covers only 500 to 1000 years back in time, but offers the possibility to assess regional representativeness of a single spot. One goal of this project is to use oxygen isotope data from the NGT cores (new measurements and already available data) to improve the compilation of regional patterns of stable-isotope composition and accumulation rates as well as to investigate their variability during the past 500 to 1000 years. For this, the cores have to be dated, synchronized and a comprehensive statistical data analysis has to be performed. In a second step temporal and spatial variability of atmospheric aerosol input to Northern Greenland will be investigated and findings achieved from the deep NEEM ice core will be set in a broader perspective. Special emphasis will be given to proxies representing mineral dust (insoluble and soluble fraction, particle size). To achieve this goal, a method to quantify calcium concentration in a continuous mode has to be established. This method will be used in combination with an existing method to quantify particulate dust, to analyse dust proxies in selected NGT firn cores.

Start of doctoral thesis: 1st October 2011

 

Thesis Committee:

Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Heinz Miller

Co-Supervisor: Dr. Anna Wegener

Further Members: Dr. Martin Werner, Dr. Thomas Laepple, Dr. Hans Oerter

Committee Meetings: 01.04.12

Presentations:

EGU General Assembly 2012, Vienna, Poster presentation: "The influence of impurities on the densification of firn -a case study from North Greenland", Vienna, 22 April 2012 - 27 April 2012

Summer School:

2012 Karthaus Summer School on Glaciers and Ice Sheets in the Climate System, 12 - 21 September 2012, Italy

Software during PhD: Matlab, IGOR Pro, …