Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Acetaldehyde in the Alaskan subarctic snowpack

• Main Authors: F. Domine, S. Houdier, A. -s. Taill, W. R. Simpson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: acid catalysis; but might also; Fairbanks; Subarctic; Alaska
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.592.8499; http://hal.inria.fr/docs/00/55/42/92/PDF/acp-10-919-2010.pdf

Abstract. Acetaldehyde is a reactive intermediate in hydro-carbon oxidation. It is both emitted and taken up by snow-packs and photochemical and physical processes are proba-bly involved. Understanding the reactivity of acetaldehyde in snow and its processes of physical and chemical exchanges requires the knowledge of its incorporation mechanism in snow crystals. We have performed a season-long study of the evolution of acetaldehyde concentrations in the subarctic snowpack near Fairbanks (65 ◦ N), central Alaska, which is subjected to a vigorous metamorphism due to persistent el-evated temperature gradients in the snowpack, between 20 and 200 ◦ C m−1. The snowpack therefore almost entirely transforms into depth hoar. We have also analyzed acetalde-hyde in a manipulated snowpack where temperature gradi-ents were suppressed. Snow crystals there transformed much