Last Interglacial Climate Variability at TALDICE, East Antarctica

The last interglacial period, also known as Eemian (ca. 132-116 ka BP), characterized by global temperatures and sea level higher than today, has been found in six East Antarctic ice cores: Vostok, Taylor Dome, Dome F, EPICA Dome C, EPICA Dronning Maud Land and TALDICE. Here we present a new deuterium excess record obtained from the TALDICE ice core analysing the high-re solution samples obtained from the 5 cm cuttings between 1384 and 1414 m, corresponding to the 115-130 ka BP period. Talos Dome is a peripheral dome of East Antarctica, located in the Ross Sea sector where the TALDICE deep ice core (1620 m) has been retrieved. A previous study has shown that the ?18O records obtained from the East Antarctic deep ice cores depict a quite homogeneous pattern during the present and last interglacials. However, regional differences, particularly important in the case of the TALDICE ice core, may be related to both elevation and regional atmospheric circulation changes. The north-western drainage area of Talos Dome is mostly below sea level (Wilkes Subglacial Basin) and could be more sensitive to climatic and sea level fluctuations than other sectors of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, possibly causing a distinct ?18O signal in the TALDICE ice core. The ?18O and deuterium excess records will be compared to high resolution ssNa and nssCa records as well as to the EPICA Dome C isotopic records to understand the regional differences highlighted by this site.