Better understanding climate change and the hydrological cycle in Adelie Land through the analysis of water isotopes

The ADELISE project aims to reconstruct the climate and atmospheric water cycle in Adélie Land over the past centuries to millennia, in coordination with other Antarctic projects. It builds on the previous ADELISE projects and the progress made in the ICORDA-KATABATIC project to analyze water isotopes in vapor and precipitation (with a newly validated prototype) as well as inert gases. The project plans to continue isotopic measurements at the Dumont d’Urville station, in synergy with the AWACA and NIVO projects. The goal is to improve climate models (LMDZ6-iso, ECHAM6-iso) by comparing observations and simulations. In turn these models will be used for improved interpretation of ice core records. Ice core drilling (200-300 m) is also planned at Stop0 and D85 within the framework of the international Antarctica InSync program, with complementary measurements (borehole temperatures, isotopes, impurities). ADELISE is highly collaborative, involving several French projects (GLACIOCLIM, CALVA, etc.) and European partners. It aims to better understand natural climate variability and distinguish anthropogenic impacts on Antarctica.