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Particulate and water-soluble carbon measured in recent snow at Summit, Greenland
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA
Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water-insoluble particulate organic carbon (WIOC), and particulate elemental carbon (EC) were measured simultaneously for the first time on the Greenland Ice Sheet in surface snow and in a 3-meter snow pit. Snow pit concentrations reveal that, on average, WSOC makes up the majority (89%) of carbonaceous species, followed by WIOC (10%) and EC (1%). The enhancement of OC relative to EC (ratio 99:1) in Greenland snow suggests that, along with atmospheric particulate matter, gaseous organics contribute to snow-phase OC. Comparison of summer surface snow concentrations in 2006 with past summer snow pit layers (2002–2005) found a significant depletion in WSOC (20–82%) and WIOC (46–65%) relative to EC for 3 of the 4 years. The apparent substantial loss of WSOC and WIOC in aged snow suggests that post-depositional processes, such as photochemical reactions, need to be considered in linking ice core records of organics to atmospheric concentrations.
Received 21 March 2007; accepted 9 July 2007; published 29 August 2007.
Citation: (2007), Particulate and water-soluble carbon measured in recent snow at Summit, Greenland, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L16505, doi:10.1029/2007GL030110.
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