Stable accumulation patterns around Dome C, East Antarctica, over the last glacial cycle

Abstract. We reconstruct the pattern of surface accumulation in the region around Dome C, East Antarctica, through the last glacial cycle. We use a set of internal isochrones interpreted from various ice-penetrating radar surveys and a 1D pseudo-steady ice flow model to invert for both time-averaged accumulation rates and paleoaccumulation rates between isochrone pairs. We observe that the surface accumulation pattern is stable through the last 128 kyrs, both the large-scale (100s km) gradients which reflect current modeled and observed precipitation gradients in the region, as well as the small-scale (10s km) accumulation variations linked to snow redistribution at the surface due to changes in its slope and curvature in the prevailing wind direction. This suggests a stable position of the dome throughout the last glacial cycle