A new method based on low background instrumental neutron activation analysis for major, trace and ultra-trace element determination in atmospheric mineral dust from polar ice cores

Baccolo, Giovanni; Clemenza, M.; Delmonte, Barbara; Maffezzoli, Niccoló; Nastasi, M.; Previtali, E.; Prata, Michele; Salvini, Andrea; Maggi, Valter

doi:10.1016/j.aca.2016.04.008

Cited by 15 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…Two irradiations and several acquisitions of the γ spectra were necessary to detect the largest number of radionuclides, ranging from the short-lived species to the long-lived ones. For a complete description of the method, including the estimation of errors, see Baccolo et al (2015Baccolo et al ( , 2016.…”

Section: Dust Concentration Size Distribution and Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recent studies suggested that the Ta enrichment in rocks, sediments, and atmospheric particulate matter could be attributed to the effect of chemical weathering. Being extremely stable from a chemical and geochemical perspective, the loss of mobile fractions during weathering, enhanced by atmospheric transport, could explain the enrichment of Ta (Baccolo et al, 2016;Vlastelic et al, 2015).…”

Section: Geochemical Characterization Of Dust In Snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Saharan dust events in the European Alps: role in snowmelt and geochemical characterization

et al. 2019

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Abstract. The input of mineral dust from arid regions impacts snow optical properties. The induced albedo reduction generally alters the melting dynamics of the snowpack, resulting in earlier snowmelt. In this paper, we evaluate the impact of dust depositions on the melting dynamics of snowpack at a high-elevation site (2160 m) in the European Alps (Torgnon, Aosta Valley, Italy) during three hydrological years (2013–2016). These years were characterized by several Saharan dust events that deposited significant amounts of mineral dust in the European Alps. We quantify the shortening of the snow season due to dust deposition by comparing observed snow depths and those simulated with the Crocus model accounting, or not, for the impact of impurities. The model was run and tested using meteorological data from an automated weather station. We propose the use of repeated digital images for tracking dust deposition and resurfacing in the snowpack. The good agreement between model prediction and digital images allowed us to propose the use of an RGB index (i.e. snow darkening index – SDI) for monitoring dust on snow using images from a digital camera. We also present a geochemical characterization of dust reaching the Alpine chain during spring in 2014. Elements found in dust were classified as a function of their origin and compared with Saharan sources. A strong enrichment in Fe was observed in snow containing Saharan dust. In our case study, the comparison between modelling results and observations showed that impurities deposited in snow anticipated the disappearance of snow up to 38 d a out of a total 7 months of typical snow duration. This happened for the season 2015–2016 that was characterized by a strong dust deposition event. During the other seasons considered here (2013–2014 and 2014–2015), the snow melt-out date was 18 and 11 d earlier, respectively. We conclude that the effect of the Saharan dust is expected to reduce snow cover duration through the snow-albedo feedback. This process is known to have a series of further hydrological and phenological feedback effects that should be characterized in future research.

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Section: Dust Concentration Size Distribution and Geochemistrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Geochemical Characterization Of Dust In Snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

Saharan dust events in the European Alps: role in snowmelt and geochemical characterization

et al. 2019

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“…Samples were prepared using ice strips dedicated to dust analysis. Ice core strips were decontaminated and treated for the successive analyses in accordance to a well-established procedure [17]. After melting, decontaminated meltwater was divided into two aliquots, one for Coulter counter analysis, one for synchrotron light-based measurements.…”

Section: The Talos Dome Ice Corementioning

confidence: 99%

The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

et al. 2018

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The possibility of finding a stratigraphically intact ice sequence with a potential basal age exceeding one million years in Antarctica is giving renewed interest to deep ice coring operations. But the older and deeper the ice, the more impactful are the post-depositional processes that alter and modify the information entrapped within ice layers. Understanding in situ post-depositional processes occurring in the deeper part of ice cores is essential to comprehend how the climatic signals are preserved in deep ice, and consequently how to construct the paleoclimatic records. New techniques and new interpretative tools are required for these purposes. In this respect, the application of synchrotron light to microgram-sized atmospheric dust samples extracted from deep ice cores is extremely promising. We present here preliminary results on two sets of samples retrieved from the Talos Dome Antarctic ice core. A first set is composed by samples from the stratigraphically intact upper part of the core, the second by samples retrieved from the deeper part of the core that is still undated. Two techniques based on synchrotron light allowed us to characterize the dust samples, showing that mineral particles entrapped in the deepest ice layers display altered elemental composition and anomalies concerning iron geochemistry, besides being affected by inter-particle aggregation.

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“…Geochemical techniques such as Thermo-Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS), Proton-Induced X-Ray and Gamma-ray Emission (PIXE-PIGE) techniques and low-background Instrumental Neutron Activation (INAA) were successfully applied to bulk dust from Antarctic ice cores [15,18,19]. Also, single-grain analyses can be applied to ice core samples.…”

Section: Condens Matter 2018 3 X For Peer Review 2 Of 14mentioning

confidence: 99%

XANES Iron Geochemistry in the Mineral Dust of the Talos Dome Ice Core (Antarctica) and the Southern Hemisphere Potential Source Areas

et al. 2018

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X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) measurements at the Fe K-edge were performed on aeolian dust in the TALos Dome Ice CorE drilling project (TALDICE) ice core drilled in the peripheral East Antarctic plateau, as well as on Southern Hemisphere potential source area samples. While South American sources show, as expected, a progressive increase in Fe oxidation with decreasing latitude, Antarctic sources show Fe oxidation levels higher than expected in such a cold polar environment, probably because of their very high exposure ages. Results from the TALDICE dust samples are compatible with a South American influence at the site during MIS2 (marine isotopic stage 2, the last and coldest phase of the last glacial period), in particular from Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. However, a contribution from Australia and/or local Antarctic sources cannot be ruled out. Finally, important changes also occurred during the deglaciation and in the Holocene, when the influence of Antarctic local sources seems to have become progressively more important in recent times. This research is the first successful attempt to extract temporal climatic information from X-ray absorption spectroscopic data of the insoluble mineral dust particles contained in an ice core and shows the high potential of this technique.

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A new method based on low background instrumental neutron activation analysis for major, trace and ultra-trace element determination in atmospheric mineral dust from polar ice cores

Cited by 15 publications

References 63 publications

Saharan dust events in the European Alps: role in snowmelt and geochemical characterization

Saharan dust events in the European Alps: role in snowmelt and geochemical characterization

The Contribution of Synchrotron Light for the Characterization of Atmospheric Mineral Dust in Deep Ice Cores: Preliminary Results from the Talos Dome Ice Core (East Antarctica)

XANES Iron Geochemistry in the Mineral Dust of the Talos Dome Ice Core (Antarctica) and the Southern Hemisphere Potential Source Areas

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