A 1500 year record of accumulation at Amundsenisen western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica, derived from electrical and radioactive measurements on a 120 m ice core

During the Nordic EPICA pre-site survey in Dronning Maud Land in 1997/1998 a 120 m long ice core was retrieved (76 degrees 00'S 08 degrees 03'W, 2400 m above sea level). The whole core has been measured using the electric con ductivity measurement (ECM) and dielectric profiling (DEP) techniques, and the core chronology has been established by detecting major volcanic erupti ons. In a nearby shallow core radioactive traces from nuclear tests conduct ed during the 1950s and 1960s have been identified. Altogether, 13 ECM and DEP peaks in the long core are identified as originating from specific volc anic eruptions. In addition two peaks of increased total beta activity are identified in the short core. Accumulation is calculated as averages over t he time periods between these dated events. Accumulation rate is 62 millime tres (w. eq./yr) for the last 181 years (1816 A.D. to present) and 61 mm w. eq./yr for the last 1457 years (540 A.D. to present). Our record shows an 8% decrease in accumulation between 1452 and 1641 A.D. (i.e. part of the Li ttle Ice Age), compared to the long-term mean.