A method for analysis of vanillic acid in polar ice cores
© Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Biomass burning generates a wide range of organic compounds that are transported via aerosols to the polar ice sheets. Vanillic acid is a product of conifer lignin combustion, which has previously been observed in laboratory and ambient biomass burning a...
Published in: | Climate of the Past |
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Main Authors: | , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
eScholarship, University of California
2015
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Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/7f49n5x5 |
Summary: | © Author(s) 2015. CC Attribution 3.0 License. Biomass burning generates a wide range of organic compounds that are transported via aerosols to the polar ice sheets. Vanillic acid is a product of conifer lignin combustion, which has previously been observed in laboratory and ambient biomass burning aerosols. In this study a method was developed for analysis of vanillic acid in melted polar ice core samples. Vanillic acid was chromatographically separated using reversed-phase liquid chromatography (HPLC) and detected using electrospray ionization-triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (ESI-MS/MS). Using a 100 I1/4L injection loop and analysis time of 4 min, we obtained a detection limit of 77 ppt (parts per trillion by mass) and an analytical precision of ±10%. Measurements of vanillic acid in Arctic ice core samples from the Siberian Akademii Nauk core are shown as an example application of the method. |
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