Abstract:

In this paper, the latest progress of the resources, the time and spatial changes of concentrations of SO 2- 4 in the firn and ice of Antarctic ice sheet have been reviewed. The review of SO 2- 4 resources shows that SO 2- 4 is mainly marine and biogenic as well as large volcanic eruptions in origin in Antarctica. The progress in the studies of volcanic eruptions recorded in the Antarctic ice cores has been given special attention. The summarizing of the studies indicates that the deposition differences for any eruption are expected to be high, but in order to obtain a better comparison among different events in a single core or among different cores, a relative deposition may be calculated for the Tambora eruption. Studies show that the volcanic nssSO 2- 4 flux ratio with respect to the Tambora eruption for different Antarctic ice cores can be comparable, which makes it possible to calculate the scale of past volcanic events using the fluxes of nssSO 2- 4 recorded in the ice cores of Antarctica.