Glacio-environmental aspects recorded in two shallow ice cores drilled in 1980 at accumulation area of Khumbu Glacier of Mt. Everest in Nepal Himalayas

Figures & data

Figure 1. (a) Location map, (b), (c) satellite images, and (d), (e) photographs of the drilling site at the Western Cwm of the Khumbu Glacier in the Nepal Himalayas. The satellite images were acquired on 10 May 1999 by Landsat 5 TM. Locations of the drilling site of the ice cores on the glacier are shown. Photographs (d) and (e), which were taken during the expedition in 1980, show ice core drilling of core 1 and downward view of the glacier from the drilling site of core 2, respectively

Figure 2. Selected photographs and physical properties of the two ice cores from the Western Cwm of Khumbu Glacier taken in a laboratory at Chiba University in 2016: (a) core 1: 4.19–4.43 m; (b) core 1: 7.58–7.88 m; (c) core 2: 0.39–0.64 m; (d) core 2: 1.63–1.73 m; (e) and (f) density, borehole temperature, and stratigraphy with snow grain size in firn layers for cores 1 and 2, respectively

Table 1. Oxygen-stable isotope and soluble ion concentrations in two ice cores from the Western Cwm of Khumbu Glacier. For comparison, the ice core data from the East Rongbuk Glacier (ERG, mean of the depth of 8.51–11.07 m corresponding to 1980–1975 AD, drilled in 1998) are shown (Hou et al. 2003)

		δ^18O	Na^+	Cl^−	K^+	SO4^2+	Mg^2+	Ca^2+	NO3^−	NH4^+
		‰	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1	μEq L^−1
Core 1	Mean	−18.5	25.8	27.6	1.3	1.9	2.8	4.8	0.4	1.3
	Min	−22.7	0.3	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	1.2	0.0	0.0
	Max	−14.2	304.5	339.7	19.7	11.1	17.8	17.8	2.5	19.7
Core 2	Mean	−21.4	2.2	3.2	0.5	1.7	2.1	25.9	0.4	0.0
	Min	−24.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.1	0.5	3.6	0.0	0.0
	Max	−18.2	12.1	11.2	5.0	9.7	11.6	205.1	2.9	0.4
ERG	Mean	−16.2	0.7	1.1	0.4	2.8	0.7	9.0	1.0	4.4
	Min	−18.6	0.1	0.1	0.0	0.6	0.1	0.4	0.1	1.0
	Max	−11.8	3.0	11.4	10.2	6.5	2.1	27.9	3.5	11.5

Figure 3. Oxygen-stable isotope and major soluble ions for cores 1 and 2 on the Western Cwm of Khumbu Glacier

Figure 4. Stratigraphy and profiles of oxygen-stable isotopes and pollen grains for (a) core 1 and (b) core 2 to determine annual layers. Due to lack of signal, those of only the upper 4 m of core 1 were determined. +Indicates the layer in which the pollen grains were found. Dashed line indicates the possible annual boundaries (spring). (c)–(f) Photographs of major pollen grains found in the ice cores observed with fluorescence microscopy: (c) Pinus (large type, likely Picea), (d) Pinus (small type), (e) Juniperus, (f) Batula, (g) Ephedra, and (h) Artemisia. Scale bar = 50 µm

Figure 5. XRD spectra and photographs of debris contained in the two ice cores of Khumbu Glacier: (a) core 1; (b) core 2; (c) and (d) debris contained in core 2. Scale bar = 0.5 mm

Hou, S., D. Qin, D. Zhang, S. Kang, P. A. Mayewski, and C. P. Wake. 2003. A 154 a high-resolution ammonium record from the Rongbuk Glacier, north slope of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest), Tibet–Himal region. Atmospheric Environment 37 (5):721–29. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00582-4.

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