Geographic provenance of aeolian dust in East Antarctica during Pleistocene glaciations: preliminary results from Talos Dome and comparison with East Antarctic and new Andean ice core data

Altogether, ice core and source data strongly suggest that the westerly circulation pattern allowed efficient transfer of dust from South America to the East Antarctic plateau under cold Quaternary climates. Isotopic data support the hypothesis of a possible mixing of dust from Patagonia and from the Puna-Altiplano plateau. Interestingly, high glacial dust inputs to Antarctica are characterized by less radiogenic Nd values, an issue suggesting that enhanced dust production in Patagonia was associated with the activation of a secondary source. Still, Patagonia was the most important supplier for dust to central East Antarctica during Quaternary glaciations.