| Title | Trace gas species in polar atmospheres; ambient and firn measurements |
| Author | Beyersdorf, A.J. |
| Source | 180p. . Availability: Univ. Microfilms, Ann Arbor, MI, United States |
| Publication Date | 2007 |
| Notes | In English. Ph.D. thesis. Includes appendix Ant. Acc. No: 84228. GeoRef Acc. No: 285836 |
| Index Terms | firn; gases; human activity; polar regions; polar atmospheres; microelement content; polar regions; Antarctica--South Pole; Southern Ocean; Greenland--Summit; alkyl nitrates; Antarctica; Arctic region; atmosphere; carbon dioxide; Greenland; hydroxyl ion; organic compounds; South Pole; Summit Greenland; trace elements; volatile organic compounds; volatiles |
| Abstract | Trace gas measurements are presented from two polar locations--Summit, Greenland and Antarctica. These remote sites act as references for a comparison between the background atmosphere of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. In addition, separate experiments were performed to determine hydroxyl concentrations in the sunlit snowpack at Summit, Greenland. Ambient samples collected at Summit since 1997 showed that concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are influenced by variation in hydroxyl radical levels resulting in a seasonal cycle peaking in late winter. A subsequent decrease is measured corresponding to an estimated hydroxyl concentration of (1.6 ±0.4) × 105 molecule cm-3 for the northern high latitudes during the Spring. Measurements of VOCs are also reported from 2001 to 2006 at the South Pole. Mixing ratios for the majority of the species are lower than measured at Summit due to lower anthropogenic sources in the Southern Hemisphere. Slightly higher springtime hydroxyl concentrations of (1.8±0.1 × 105 were estimated in the Southern Hemisphere. (modif. auth. abstr.) |
| Publication Type | monograph |
| Record ID | 62005291 |