More on Ice Core CO2 measurements
A reader writes:
My training as a Chemical Engineer tells me that the CO2 in trapped air bubbles will seek equilibrium with the ice. This would give a consistent and lower concentration than the original air bubble. I have not been able to find any studies or information that looks at this -except the abstract below. I have not yet managed to get a copy of the presentation. If I interpret the abstract correctly it means that CO2 concentrations in trapped air bubbles are not related to the original concentration, but probably more related to the temperature and pressure of the ice. This kind of takes the legs out from under the whole global warming theory.
CO2 in Natural Ice
Stauffer, B | Berner, W
Symposium on the Physics and Chemistry of Ice; Proceedings of the
Third International Symposium, Cambridge (England) September
12-16, 1977. Journal of Glaciology, Vol. 21, No. 85, p 291-300,
1978. 3 fig, 5 tab, 18 ref.
Natural ice contains approximately 100 ppm (by weight) of enclosed
air. This air is mainly located in bubbles. Carbon dioxide is an
exception. The fraction of CO2 present in bubbles was estimated to
be only about 20%. The remaining part is dissolved in the ice.
Measurements of the CO2 content of ice samples from temperate and
cold glacier ice as well as of freshly fallen snow and of a
laboratory-grown single crystal were presented. It is probable
that a local equilibrium is reached between the CO2 dissolved in
the ice and the CO2 of the surroundings and of the air bubbles.
The CO2 content of ancient air is directly preserved neither in
the total CO2 concentration nor in the CO2 concentration in the
bubbles. Possibly the CO2 content of ancient air may at least be
estimated if the solubility and the diffusion constant of CO2 in
ice are known as a function of temperature. (See also W79-09342)
(Humphreys-ISWS)