Climatic ice core records from the tropical quelccaya ice cap.
The Quelccaya Ice Cap in the easternmost glaciated mountain chain of the Peruvian Andes has been studied in four recentfield seasons. Ice cores to a depth of 15 meters have been retrieved at the summit dome (elevation, 5650 meters) and two other locations and used for microparticle, isotope, and beta radioactivity measurements. A concurrent study of the present climate and the heat and mass budgets is being made to permit a paleoclimatic interpretation of deep core records. The results indicate the need for a revision of the isotope "thermometry" for application in the tropics. However, the seasonality of the beta radioactivity, microparticle content, and isotope ratios offers the prospect of a mass balance chronology. This is important in that precipitation is believed to be a more indicative paleoclimatic parameter than temperature in the tropics.
Thompson
L G
LG
Hastenrath
S
S
Arnao
B M
BM