/sci/ - Science & Math

>>10725965
>So if it takes a century or more for an air bubble to form, then it follows that any air bubbles in the ice cores would hide any intense short-duration transients.
Yes (kinda). The firn air is not very well mixed because the long path of mixing, so it's not like they are uniform but each has it's own histogram of age distribution. The signal will still be there but it is smoothed over through diffusion, plus some gravitational fractionation (where heavy gases sink faster), and thermal fractionation. The histogram of age distribution that is site specific. In high accumulation site like greenland and west antarctica the signal is relatively preserved, but in low accumulation site like east antarctica it is smoothed over.

>If the carbon dioxide levels shot up to 20x normal during a span of 30 years, you wouldn't be able to see that in the ice record.
We'll still see it, but not as 20x over 30 years. Maybe like 15x over 50 years. But remember the power of averages. We know the average age, we know the average concentration and their associated uncertainties. It is more likely than not it'll be a fairly accurate representation of the true signal. If you're interested in gas flow in porous media and firn air physics check this paper out
https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/4259/2012/acp-12-4259-2012.pdf