Aerosol and graphitic carbon content of snow

Chýlek, Petr; Srivastava, Vandana; Cahenzli, Lynn; Pinnick, Ronald G.; Dod, R.L.; Novakov, T.; Cook, Terri; Hinds, B. D.

doi:10.1029/jd092id08p09801

Cited by 75 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Two methods have been used by other groups to extract POC from ice samples: filtering of meltwater (Chýlek et al 1987) and sublimating the ice sample in a vacuum while depositing the particles onto a surface substrate (Biegalski et al 1998). Sublimation may provide a better particle recovery yield and would collect a part of the DOC fraction as well, but the meltwater is unavoidably lost.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon Determination of Particulate Organic Carbon in Non-Temperated, Alpine Glacier Ice

Steier

Drosg²,

Fedi³

et al. 2006

Radiocarbon

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ABSTRACT. Dating ice samples from glaciers via radiocarbon is a challenge that requires systematic investigations. This work describes an approach for extraction and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14 C analysis of the particulate organic carbon (POC) fraction in glacier ice samples. Measurements were performed at VERA (Vienna Environmental Research Accelerator) on ice samples obtained mainly from the non-temperated ablation zone of the Grenzgletscher (Grenz Glacier) system (Monte Rosa Massif, Swiss Alps). The samples were obtained from 2 sampling sites situated roughly on a common flow line. The sample masses used were between 0.3 and 1.4 kg of ice, yielding between 18 and 307 µg of carbon as POC. The carbon contamination introduced during sample processing varied between 5.4 and 33 µg C and originated mainly from the quartz filters and the rinsing liquids used in processing. Minimum sample sizes for successful graphitization of CO 2 in our laboratory could be reduced to <10 µg carbon, with a background in the graphitization process of ~0.5 µg of 40-pMC carbon. Evaluation of the whole procedure via 11 Grenzgletscher samples revealed a surprisingly large scatter of pMC values. We obtain a mean calibrated age of 2100 BC to AD 900 (95.4% confidence level), which is not significantly different for the 2 sampling sites. Discussions of these results suggest that single 14 C dates of glacial POC are presently of limited significance. Future improvements with respect to analytical precision and sample characterization are proposed in order to fully explore the POC dating potential.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Radiocarbon Determination of Particulate Organic Carbon in Non-Temperated, Alpine Glacier Ice

Steier

Drosg²,

Fedi³

et al. 2006

Radiocarbon

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“…Large discrepancies in the reported collection efficiency of quartz fiber filters exist among studies: 50-80% by Ogren et al (1983), 55-84% by Chylek et al (1987), 71-99% by Chylek et al (1999), 95% by Lavanchy et al (1999), and 95% by Hadley et al (2010). Some studies evaluated collection efficiency by using two filters in series, and comparing the mass of carbon collected on the second filter with that on the first filter (Cerqueira et al 2010).…”

Section: Collection Efficiency For Thermal-optical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our study, the second and third filter together collected less than 3% of the total BC mass in solution. Chylek et al (1987) used aluminum oxide particles, and Chylek et al (1999) and Lavanchy et al (1999) used carbon black to evaluate collection efficiency, which could lead to the high efficiency of collection because the physical-chemical properties are different than aged atmospheric BC. The reference materials used in this study were oxidized to simulate BC that would be captured in raindrops, so its affinity for water may be relatively greater than its attraction to the filter.…”

Section: Collection Efficiency For Thermal-optical Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring Organic Carbon and Black Carbon in Rainwater: Evaluation of Methods

Torres

Bond

Lehmann

et al. 2014

Aerosol Science and Technology

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Measuring wet deposition of organic carbon (OC) and black carbon (BC) is crucial for the complete understanding of the global circulation, lifetime, and radiative forcing of these aerosols. There is currently no accepted standard analytical method for measuring OC and BC concentration in precipitation. Different analytical methods have been employed for this purpose, but their feasibility has yet to be assessed. This manuscript evaluates the use of thermaloptical analysis (TOA), single-particle soot photometry (SP2), and ultraviolet-visible (UV/VIS) spectrophotometry for measuring BC in precipitation. In addition, total organic carbon (TOC) analysis was evaluated for the measurement of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in precipitation. Potential interferences and sources of bias were assessed for each method. Precipitation samples and reference materials containing carbon particles generated from wood combustion and a natural gas diffusion flame were used in this study. The UV/VIS spectrophotometer, despite showing linearity with BC concentration, had inadequate sensitivity (±18 μg/L) to measure the low concentrations expected in precipitation. The SP2 analysis was adequate to measure refractory BC in precipitation in terms of precision and detection limit; however, systematic loss was estimated to be 34% (±3%). Sample filtration followed by TOA was inefficient for measuring particulate carbon in rainwater, as the quartz fiber filter captured less than 38% of the BC mass. Filtration was improved by adding salts and acids into the water samples, and ammonium dihydrogen phosphate, (NH 4 )H 2 PO 4 , was determined to be the best additive by increasing the collection efficiency of quartz fiber filters up to 95% (±5%). The TOC analyzer proved to be precise in the expected concentration range (200-5000 μg-C/L) for measuring DOC and total carbon (TC), including particulate OC and 94% (±2%) of the refractory BC in solution.

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“…Although the filters are better than 99% efficient in trapping particle sizes of interest, some particles adhere to the filtration apparatus and are not deposited on the filter. Chylek et al (1987) achieve particle collection efficiencies of 66-85% for aluminum oxide particles on quartz filters. These filtration efficiencies are consistent with results obtained when urban dust (both SRM 1648 and 1649) was mixed with crushed ice, melted, and then filtered through quartz filters.…”

Section: Particle Separation From Snowmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chylek et al (1987) surveyed snow samples for aerosol and graphitic carbon content from southern New Mexico, west Texas, Antarctica and Greenland. Black carbon concentrations were determined for ice core samples from the Greenland Dye-3 core covering the time period 3380-100 BP (ChMek, Johnson and Wu 1992).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

AMS and Microprobe Analysis of Combusted Particles in Ice and Snow

Biegalski¹,

Currie

Fletcher

et al. 1997

Radiocarbon

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ABSTRACT. Ice cores and snow pits of the cryosphere contain particles that detail the history of past atmospheric air compositions. Some of these particles result from combustion processes and have undergone long-range transport to arrive in the Arctic. Recent research has focused on the separation of particulate matter from ice and snow, as well as the subsequent analysis of the separated particles for 14C with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and for individual particle compositions with laser microprobe mass analysis (LAMMA). The very low particulate concentrations in Arctic samples make these measurements a challenge. The first task is to separate the particles from the ice core. Two major options exist to accomplish this separation. One option is to melt the ice and then filter the meltwater. A second option is to sublimate the ice core directly, depositing the particles onto a surface. This work demonstrates that greater control is obtained through sublimation. A suite of analytical methods has been used for the measurement of the carbon in snow and ice. Total carbon was analyzed with a carbon/nitrogen/hydrogen (CHN) analyzer. AMS was used for the determination of carbon isotopes. Since source identification of the carbonaceous particles is of primary importance here, the use of LAMMA was incorporated to link individual particle molecular-structural patterns to the same group of particles that were measured by the other techniques. Prior to this study, neither AMS nor LAMMA had been applied to particles contained in snow. This paper discusses the development and limitations of the methodology required to make these measurements.

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Aerosol and graphitic carbon content of snow

Cited by 75 publications

References 16 publications

Radiocarbon Determination of Particulate Organic Carbon in Non-Temperated, Alpine Glacier Ice

Radiocarbon Determination of Particulate Organic Carbon in Non-Temperated, Alpine Glacier Ice

Measuring Organic Carbon and Black Carbon in Rainwater: Evaluation of Methods

AMS and Microprobe Analysis of Combusted Particles in Ice and Snow

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