Analysis of mineral dust particles in ice cores to investigate terrestrial environmental changes associated with ice sheet shrinkage

• Project/Area Number: 20K19962
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 63010:Environmental dynamic analysis-related
• Research Institution: Nonprofit Organization Mount Fuji Research Station (2022); National Institute of Polar Research (2020-2021)
• Principal Investigator: Komuro Yuki 特定非営利活動法人富士山測候所を活用する会(富士山環境研究センター), 第一研究部, 特任研究員 (60867331)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2023-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2022)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,160,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥960,000); Fiscal Year 2022: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000); Fiscal Year 2021: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000); Fiscal Year 2020: ¥1,170,000 (Direct Cost: ¥900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥270,000)
• Keywords: グリーンランド / アイスコア / 鉱物ダスト / 陸域環境変動 / 氷床変動

Outline of Research at the Start

氷床上に沈着した鉱物ダスト粒子（以後、粒子と略す）は、氷床表面のアルベドを低下させ、日射による氷床融解を促進する効果がある。温暖化等による氷床の縮小は、氷床に覆われていた陸面を露出させ、粒子の新たな発生源を生み出す可能性がある。しかし、このような氷床周辺の環境変動が氷床上の粒子量に与える影響は十分に解明されていない。本研究では、アイスコアを用いて氷床上における過去の粒子量変動を復元する。そして、氷床周辺地域を起源とする粒子の寄与を推定し、その時間変動が同地域のどのような環境要因の変動と関係しているかを明らかにする。

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Chemical components and mineral dust in ice cores drilled in the inland region of Greenland were analyzed using the continuous flow analysis system and a Coulter counter in the National Institute of Polar Research. The temporal variation of coarse mineral dust, which came from coastal soil regions in Greenland, was consistent with that of the North Atlantic Oscillation index. This suggests that changes in atmospheric circulation around Greenland and associated changes in air temperature and land surface conditions in the coastal regions affected the supply of mineral dust from the coastal regions. The increase in coarse mineral dust since around 1600 also suggests that the atmospheric and land surface conditions around Greenland have changed after that year.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

本研究の学術的な特色は、アイスコアに含まれる大きい鉱物ダストを調べることで、その起源地域であるグリーンランド周辺の古環境情報を復元できる可能性を示したことである。特に内陸部のアイスコアでは大きい鉱物ダストの研究例がほとんど無いため、それが持つ古環境プロキシとしての利用可能性を示した意義は大きい。また、鉱物ダスト供給量の変動原因の一つを示したことは、将来の環境変化に伴う鉱物ダストによるグリーンランド氷床表面のアルベドの変化量や、それによる氷床表面の融解量及び海水準の変化量をより正確に予測することへ貢献するため、社会的意義も大きい。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Temporal and spatial variabilities in surface mass balance at the EGRIP site, Greenland from 2009 to 2017 (2021)
  • Author(s): Yuki Komuro, Fumio Nakazawa, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Naoko Nagatsuka, Wataru Shigeyama, Sumito Matoba, Tomoyuki Homma, Jørgen Peder Steffensen, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
  • Journal Title: Polar Science Volume: 27 Pages: 100568-100568
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.polar.2020.100568
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Journal Article] Studies on the variability of the Greenland Ice Sheet and climate (2021)
  • Author(s): Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Tomoyuki Homma, Tomotaka Saruya, Fumio Nakazawa, Yuki Komuro, Naoko Nagatsuka, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Yutaka Kondo, Makoto Koike, Teruo Aoki, Ralf Greve, Jun'ichi Okuno
  • Journal Title: Polar Science Volume: 27 Pages: 100557-100557
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.polar.2020.100557
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access / Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Dating and insoluble particle analysis of a shallow ice core drilled at EGRIP, Greenland (2023)
  • Author(s): Yuki Komuro, Fumio Nakazawa, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Naoko Nagatsuka, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Jun Ogata, Kaori Fukuda, Naoyuki Kurita, Kyotaro Kitamura, Giulia Sinnl, Sune Olander Rasmussen, Trevor James Popp, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
  • Organizer: The Seventh International Symposium on Arctic Research
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Variations in mineralogy of dust in ice cores obtained from Greenland over the past 100 years (2023)
  • Author(s): Naoko Nagatsuka, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Akane Tsushima, Koji Fujita, Sumito Matoba, Yukihiko Onuma, Yuki Komuro, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Jun Ogata, Yoshimi Ogawa-Tsukagawa, Kyotaro Kitamura, Trevor James Popp, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
  • Organizer: The Seventh International Symposium on Arctic Research
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Variations in mineralogy of dust in ice cores obtained from northwestern and northeastern Greenland over the past 100 years (2022)
  • Author(s): Naoko Nagatsuka, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Akane Tsushima, Koji Fujita, Sumito Matoba, Yukihiko Onuma, Yuki Komuro, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Jun Ogata, Yoshimi Ogawa-Tsukagawa, Kyotaro Kitamura, Teruo Aoki, Trevor James Popp, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
  • Organizer: The 13th Symposium on Polar Science
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] アイスコアを用いたグリーンランド氷床北部における過去 100 年間の鉱物組成変動の空間分布 (2022)
  • Author(s): 永塚 尚子, 東 久美子, 對馬 あかね, 藤田 耕史, 的場 澄人, 大沼 友貴彦, 小室 悠紀, 平林 幹啓, 尾形 純, 塚川 佳美, 北村 享太郎, 青木 輝夫, Popp Trevor James, Dahl-Jensen Dorthe
  • Organizer: 雪氷研究大会（2022・札幌）
• [Presentation] Dating and solid particle analysis of a shallow ice core obtained from EGRIP, Greenland (2021)
  • Author(s): Yuki Komuro, Fumio Nakazawa, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Naoko Nagatsuka, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Jun Ogata, Kaori Fukuda, Naoyuki Kurita, Kyotaro Kitamura, Ayaka Yonekura, Trevor J. Popp, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
  • Organizer: The 12th Symposium on Polar Science
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] グリーンランドEGRIP浅層コアの年代決定及び固体粒子解析 (2021)
  • Author(s): 小室悠紀, 中澤文男, 東久美子, 平林幹啓, 尾形純, 福田かおり, 栗田直幸, 北村享太郎, 米倉綾香, Trevor J. Popp, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen
  • Organizer: 雪氷研究大会（2021・千葉-オンライン）
• [Presentation] Seasonal changes in concentration, metal composition and size distribution of mineral particles in recent snow at EGRIP, Greenland (2021)
  • Author(s): Yuki Komuro, Fumio Nakazawa, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Wataru Shigeyama, Naoko Nagatsuka
  • Organizer: Japan Geoscience Union Meeting 2021
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Recent seasonal changes of metal composition and size distribution of mineral particles in snow at EGRIP, Greenland (2021)
  • Author(s): Yuki Komuro, Fumio Nakazawa, Kumiko Goto-Azuma, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Wataru Shigeyama, Naoko Nagatsuka
  • Organizer: EGU General Assembly 2021
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Analysis of solid microparticles and metal components contained in snow at EGRIP, Greenland (2020)
  • Author(s): Komuro, Y., Nakazawa, F., Nagatsuka, N., Hirabayashi, M., Shigeyama, W., Matoba, S., Homma, T., and Goto-Azuma, K.
  • Organizer: The 11th Symposium on Polar Science
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Temporal and spatial variabilities in recent surface mass balance at EGRIP, Greenland (2020)
  • Author(s): Komuro, Y., Nakazawa, F., Nagatsuka, N., Hirabayashi, M., Shigeyama, W., Matoba, S., Homma, T., and Goto-Azuma, K.
  • Organizer: The 11th Symposium on Polar Science
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] グリーンランドEGRIPのピット試料に含まれる固体微粒子および金属成分の解析 (2020)
  • Author(s): 小室悠紀，中澤文男，永塚尚子, 平林幹啓, 繁山航, 的場澄人, 本間智之, 東久美子
  • Organizer: 雪氷研究大会（2020・オンライン）