Black carbon (BC) is an important climate-forcing agent that affects snow albedo. In this work, we present a record of refractory black carbon (rBC) variability, measured from a 20 m deep snow and firn core drilled in West Antarctica (79^∘55^′34.6^′′ S, 94^∘21^′13.3^′′ W, 2122 m above sea level) during the 2014–2015 austral summer. This is the highest elevation rBC record from West Antarctica. The core was analyzed using the Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) coupled to a CETAC Marin-5 nebulizer. Results show a well-defined seasonality with geometric mean concentrations of 0.015 µg L⁻¹ for the wet season (austral summer–fall) and 0.057 µg L⁻¹ for the dry season (austral winter–spring). The core was dated to 47 years (1968–2015) using rBC seasonality as the main parameter, along with sodium (Na), sulfur (S) and strontium (Sr) variations. The annual rBC concentration geometric mean was 0.03 µg L⁻¹, the lowest of all rBC cores in Antarctica referenced in this work, while the annual rBC flux was 6.25 µg m⁻² a⁻¹, the lowest flux in West Antarctica rBC records. No long-term trend was observed. Snow albedo reductions at the site due to BC were simulated using SNICAR online and found to be insignificant (−0.48 %) compared to clean snow. Fire spot inventory and BC emission estimates from the Southern Hemisphere suggest Australia and Southern Hemisphere South America as the most probable emission sources of BC to the drilling site, whereas HYSPLIT model particle transport simulations from 1968 to 2015 support Australia and New Zealand as rBC sources, with limited contributions from South America. Spectral analysis (REDFIT method) of the BC record showed cycles related to the Antarctic Oscillation (AAO) and to El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), but cycles in common with the Amundsen Sea Low (ASL) were not detected. Correlation of rBC records in Antarctica with snow accumulation, elevation and distance to the sea suggests rBC transport to East Antarctica is different from transport to West Antarctica.

An extended‐range Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) coupled to a Marin‐5 nebulizer was used to measure the refractory black carbon (rBC) mass and number size distributions in 1,004 samples from a West Antarctica snow/firn core. The SP2 was calibrated using Aquadag and a Centrifugal Particle Mass Analyzer for BC particles ranging from 0.5 to 800 fg. Our results indicate a significant contribution of rare, large particles of mass‐equivalent diameter (D_BC) > 500 nm to the total rBC mass (36%), while small particles (D_BC < 100 nm) are abundant but contribute 1,810 nm (uncontained mode). We compared two sets of samples from different seasons (wet vs. dry) and observed that dry season concentrations are 3.4 and 2 times that of the wet season in the ranges of 80 nm < D_BC < 500 nm (small particles) and 500 nm < D_BC < 2,000 nm (large particles), respectively, while number of particles in the dry season is 3.5 and 2 times that of the wet season for the same size ranges. Millimeter thick melt layers have been observed in some samples, although they did not change the observed median diameter. This study provides the first detailed rBC mass and number size distribution from West Antarctica.

The coastal plain of Rio Grande do Sul state, in Brazil, is highly vulnerable to expected changes in sea level, while having an increasing population and consequently increasing water demands. Adequate management is essential to restrain contamination, depletion and salinization of the region’s aquifers considering current and future challenges, but geologic knowledge is essential to guide groundwater sustainable practices. To contribute to this discussion, this work integrated existing geological data from the northern coast of Rio Grande do Sul state to create a three-dimensional representation of the main hydrostratigraphical units of the region and its relation to the basement rocks, expanding the current knowledge of the coastal aquifer system. A review of existing data was carried out, consisting of 307 borehole logs from 13 municipalities inside the area of interest, as well as 19 vertical electrical soundings and 37 logs from oil and coal exploratory drillings, that resulted in 315 input points for the model. This work builds up on the conceptual model previously developed for the area, that defined four hydrostratigraphical units for the region, and was able to constrain the geometries of the main aquifers (unit 1 and 3) and aquitards (unit 2 and 4) and their relation to the basement rocks, showing them to be more heterogeneous in thicknesses and extent than previously thought. In addition, this work was able to model what could be a fifth hydrostratigraphical unit, that strongly differs from the other four and could be an indication of the alluvial fans previously described in the literature.

Devido ao crescimento das pesquisas brasileiras na Antártica e no Andes, faz-se necessário ampliar o vocabulário glaciológico e de temas relacionados na língua portuguesa. Assim, esta segunda edição revisa o Glossário e duplica o número de definições, cobrindo 400 vocábulos relacionados ao ambiente glacial. Estes são definidos e seguidos por equivalentes em inglês, francês, alemão e espanhol.

O testemunho de firn IC-02 (88°01’21,3"S e 82°04’21,7"W), atingindo 41,82 m de profundidade, foi coletado no manto de gelo da Antártica Oriental, durante uma travessia científica chileno-brasileira no verão austral de 2004/2005. Este estudo visou à determinação da variabilidade sazonal das razões isotópicas de oxigênio e hidrogênio (ẟ18O e ẟD) e da taxa anual de acumulação de neve. O testemunho foi subamostrado em um sistema de fusão contínua e o conteúdo isotópico determinado por espectrometria a laser de cavidade ressonante do tipo ring-down (WS-CRDS, sistema Picarro). A série de ẟ18O varia entre ‑50,77‰ e ‑41,40‰ (média -46,39 ± 1,37‰), enquanto o ẟD varia entre -408,18‰ e ‑323,85‰ (média -367,43 ± 12,51‰). O excesso de deutério (d) tem média de 4,36 ± 2,66‰. O testemunho representa 85 ± 3 anos de acumulação de neve, ou seja, uma taxa média de 152 ± 64 mm ano‑1 em equivalente d'água. A partir da década de 1990 ocorreu a diminuição da média anual de δD concomitante com o aumento da taxa de acumulação de neve (17% entre 1974 e 2003). O aumento desta acumulação poderia estar associado à maior mobilização de neve à deriva (drift snow) até o sítio de deposição, associada à maior advecção de massas de ar oceânicas vindas dos mares antárticos (Amundsen, Bellingshausen, Weddell e Lazarev). Tal interpretação é apoiada pelo aumento da velocidade dos ventos zonais, conforme observado nos campos de anomalias de altura geopotencial, vento zonal e temperatura em 500 mb da reanálise NCEP/NCAR.