Loss of volatile acid species from upper firn layers at Vostok, Antarctica

Wagnon, Patrick; Delmas, Robert J.; Legrand, Michel

doi:10.1029/98jd02855

Cited by 118 publications

(160 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…This possibility is enhanced by the fact that firn cores are shallow (maximum depth: 6.95 m) and the firnification processes were just started and not yet able to significantly change the initial low density and high porosity of snow deposition layers. Nitrate loss from snow superficial layers in Antarctica is well documented, especially in low accumulation sites, such as Vostok (Wagnon et al, 1999) and Dome C Savarino et al, 2007).…”

Section: Results Of Decontamination Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since its only source is marine phytoplanktonic activity (via dimethylsulfide -DMS-emission at the sea-air interface and consequent oxidation to MSA and HSO 4 into the atmosphere; , contamination during the sampling or the storage cannot be occurred. On the other hand, the acidic form of MSA is affected by post-depositional effects, especially in low-accumulation sites (Wagnon et al, 1999;Traversi et al, 2009). Such effects can involve a re-emission into the atmosphere as well as simple movements in the firn layers.…”

Section: Results Of Decontamination Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Spatial and temporal variability of snow chemical composition and accumulation rate at Talos Dome site (East Antarctica)

Caiazzo¹,

Becagli²,

Frosini³

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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Section: Results Of Decontamination Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Results Of Decontamination Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and temporal variability of snow chemical composition and accumulation rate at Talos Dome site (East Antarctica)

Caiazzo¹,

Becagli²,

Frosini³

et al. 2016

Science of The Total Environment

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“…This would have been an interesting case study for the so-called CLAW hypothesis, [23] in which it was hypothesised that a climate-related increase in DMS production might lead to increased concentrations of sulfate aerosol capable of acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which would in turn have been expected, through cloud, to cause a climate feedback. However, in the last decade, it has been shown convincingly that MSA is partly re-emitted from the snowpack at sites with very low snow accumulation rate, [24,25] so that under present-day conditions, the concentration recorded in the ice is much reduced compared to that initially deposited. In contrast, MSA is retained by dust-laden glacial age snow, so that the glacial-interglacial contrast in MSA concentrations almost certainly results from a post-depositional artefact.…”

Section: Research Frontmentioning

confidence: 99%

Past atmospheric composition and chemistry from ice cores - progress and prospects

2007

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Environmental context. Investigating the past is often the only way we have of determining whether we have included all processes correctly into models, and then of verifying their behaviour. Ice cores provide an excellent way of finding out about the past. Air bubbles trapped in the ice allow us to directly access the concentration of stable trace gases, including important greenhouse gases. However, there are also tantalising possibilities to learn about aerosols and shorter-lived gases. This article describes some of the information we have already learnt from ice cores, but also describes the challenges that require understanding of atmospheric chemistry in the polar regions today in order to extract the full value of the records of the past trapped in the ice sheet.Abstract. Ice cores provide the most direct evidence available about the past atmosphere. For long-lived trace gases, ice cores have provided clear evidence that in the last two centuries, concentrations of several greenhouse gases have risen well outside the natural range observed in the previous 650 000 years. Major natural changes are also observed between cold and warm periods. Aerosol components have to be interpreted in terms of changing sources, transport and deposition. When this is done, they can also supply evidence about crucial aspects of the past environment, including sea ice extent, trace element deposition to the ocean, and about the aerosols available for cloud nucleation, for example. It is much more difficult to extract information about shorter-lived chemical species. Information may be available in components such as nitrate and formaldehyde, but to extract that information, detailed modern atmospheric studies about air to snow transfer, preservation in the ice, and the link between the polar region boundary layer and other parts of the atmosphere are urgently required.

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“…It is considered that NO − 3 in Antarctica is usually deposited in the form of gaseous HNO 3 , scavenged by or temporarily adsorbed on snow crystals (Wagnon et al, 1999) with significant dry deposition (Davis et al, 2008). Our study implies that apart from gaseous HNO 3 and NO association has been observed in deep ice cores from Vostok and Dome C (Röthlisberger et al, 2002a) (2001) have shown that the transport efficiency of dust to East Antarctica is greater at the present day, suggesting that an overall increase in dust transport is more likely.…”

Section: Formation Of Calcium Nitrate and Its Significance For The Anmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Antony et al, 2010;Erbland et al, 2013Erbland et al, , 2015, and post-depositional processes (e.g. Wagnon et al, 1999;Weller, 2004;Berhanu et al, 2015). However, there are many uncertainties and speculations over the sources of nitrate, its seasonality, and post-depositional losses (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential genesis and implications of calcium nitrate in Antarctic snow

Mahalinganathan

Thamban

2016

The Cryosphere

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Abstract.Among the large variety of particulates in the atmosphere, calcic mineral dust particles have highly reactive surfaces that undergo heterogeneous reactions with atmospheric acids contiguously. The association between nssCa 2+ , an important proxy indicator of mineral dust, and NO − 3 , a dominant anion in the Antarctic snowpack, was analysed. A total of 41 snow cores (∼ 1 m each) that represent snow deposited during 2008-2009 were studied along coastal-inland transects from two different regions in East Antarctica -the Princess Elizabeth Land (PEL) and central Dronning Maud Land (cDML). Correlation statistics showed a strong association (at 99 % significance level) between NO − 3 and nssCa 2+ at the near-coastal sections of both PEL (r = 0.74) and cDML (r = 0.82) transects. Similarly, a strong association between these ions was also observed in snow deposits at the inland sections of PEL (r = 0.73) and cDML (r = 0.84). Such systematic associations between nssCa 2+ and NO − 3 are attributed to the interaction between calcic mineral dust and nitric acid in the atmosphere, leading to the formation of calcium nitrate (Ca(NO 3 ) 2 ) aerosol. Principal component analysis revealed common transport and depositional processes for nssCa 2+ and NO − 3 both in PEL and cDML. Forward-and back-trajectory analyses using HYS-PLIT model v. 4 revealed that southern South America (SSA) was an important dust-emitting source to the study region, aided by the westerlies. Particle size distribution showed that over 90 % of the dust was in the range < 4 µm, indicating that these dust particles reached the Antarctic region via longrange transport from the SSA region. We propose that the association between nssCa 2+ and NO − 3 occurs during the longrange transport due to the formation of Ca(NO 3 ) 2 rather than to local neutralisation processes. However, the influence of local dust sources from the nunataks in cDML and the contribution of high sea salt in coastal PEL evidently mask such association in the mountainous and coastal regions respectively. Ionic balance calculations showed that 70-75 % of NO

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Loss of volatile acid species from upper firn layers at Vostok, Antarctica

Cited by 118 publications

References 44 publications

Spatial and temporal variability of snow chemical composition and accumulation rate at Talos Dome site (East Antarctica)

Spatial and temporal variability of snow chemical composition and accumulation rate at Talos Dome site (East Antarctica)

Past atmospheric composition and chemistry from ice cores - progress and prospects

Potential genesis and implications of calcium nitrate in Antarctic snow

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