The atmospheric iron variations during 1950–2016 recorded in snow at Dome Argus, East Antarctica

174 snow samples were collected from a 4.5 m snow pit at Dome Argus (Dome A), East Antarctica, during the 2015–2016 austral summer. They covered a period between 1950 and 2016. These samples were measured for iron (Fe) concentrations by the inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Both the total dissolvable Fe (TDFe) and dissolved Fe (DFe) were measured in order to evaluate the fractional Fe solubility (FFS), an important variable to determine the Fe availability for biological activities. The results show an average TDFe flux of 0.019 mg m−2 a−1 and DFe flux of 2.254 × 10−3 mg m−2 a−1 at Dome A. The mean FFS of 7.27% is consistent with previous studies on the Antarctic ice sheet. Based on the mean value of the TDFe fluxes from both the current and previous studies, the atmospheric TDFe flux in Antarctic modern snow was estimated at 19–140 × 10−3 mg m−2 a−1, potentially supporting 10.5–76.5 Tg C a−1 of primary production. This accounts about 1.21–8.80% of the annual primary production in the seasonal sea ice zone of Southern Ocean (SO), suggesting that atmospheric DFe is a minor component of Fe supply. •We sampled snow pit in Dome Argus of East Antarctica.•We depicted the variability of TDFe and DFe concentrations.•FFS and probable source of atmospheric iron were derived.•We evaluated atmospheric iron deposit flux in Antarctic ice sheet.