Abstract ATM-9523237 Thompson, Lonnie G. Ohio State University Title: A Cooperative Ice Core Paleoclimate Study of Monsoon Variability as Archived in the Dasuopu Glacier, China This award supports the retrieval and analysis of ice cores from the tropical Dasuopu glacier located in the south central Himalayas where conventional, long-term climatic data are completely absent. Tropical records are of particular interest as 50% of the global surface lies between 30oN and 30oS and 75% of the Earth's population inhabits these climatically tropical lands. The records from these cores will complement the long histories recovered from Dunde and Guliya ice caps, on the northeastern and northwestern margins of the Qinghai-Tibetan (Q-T) Plateau. Located on the southern margin of the Q-T Plateau the new drilling site lies well within the spatial extent of the monsoon system. Dominance of monsoonal circulation produces distinctly annual cycles in oxygen isotopic ratios and in the deposition of visible dust which permit the reconstruction of high resolution (annual) records of climatic and environmental conditions. Dasuopu is located just north of the Himalayas with annual precipitation about 300 mm water equivalent (H2O eq.). The high elevation of this site ensures that ice temperatures will be well below OoC, hence this glacier may be "polar: in character and is likely to contain a long, well- preserved record. The initial field program includes a complement of geophysical and surface studies designed to determine the suitability of this glacier for the recovery of high resolution, well-preserved ice core records. Studies of the climate of China are plagued by the absence of data from major sections of the (Q-T) Plateau and the surrounding high mountain ranges. The successful retrieval of previous records (Dunde and Guliya) suggest that ice cores from carefully selected ice caps in Asia are excellent archives for climatic and environmental histories. These records are essential to fill one of the major spatial gaps in the Earth's climate history.
