Oxygen-isotope and total beta-radioactivity measurements on 10 m ice cores from the Antarctic Peninsula

As part of the Glaciology of the Antarctic Peninsula (GAP) programme, the snow cover at 25 stations was sampled to 10 m depth for oxygen–isotope and total β-radioactivity analysis. The mean annual oxygen–isotope ratio correlates satisfactorily with 10 m temperature despite the complex topography of the area and suggests on average that climatic trends in the region are fairly systematic. The relationship with temperature is similar to that derived from a simple model in which an air mass initially of maritime subtropical characteristics is progressively cooled as it moves towards the region. The detailed isotope profiles show that for future deep drilling the most easily interpretable climatic information will be found in the more continental areas—on the cast coast and on the plateau in the south of the region. The degree of continentality of particular sites is reflected in the amplitude of the annual wave in the upper portion of the isotope ratio profile as well as in the accumulation rate