CO2 measurements on 1-cm3 ice samples with an IR laserspectrometer (IRLS) combined with a new dry extraction device

• Main Authors: Zumbrunn, R., Neftel, A., Oeschger, H.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Elsevier 1982
• Subjects: 530 Physics; Greenland; Antarc*; Antarctica; ice core; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.48350/158533; https://boris.unibe.ch/158533/

A new dry gas extraction and analysis method for small (1 cm3) ice samples is presented. The extraction device, cooled to −20°C, contains two movable steel needle matrices for crushing the ice. During the crushing process the gas escaping from the ice sample is continuously analyzed for CO2 with an infrared laserspectrometer. This method enables a fast measurement (few minutes) of the CO2 concentration in the air bubbles with high spatial resolution in the ice core and a minimum potential contamination. An important CO2 contamination source due to an interaction of water vapour with surfaces is shortly discussed. The reproducibility of extraction and analysis is ±2%. We analyzed CO2 concentrations in the trapped air from different ice cores originating from the Greenland ice sheet and from Antarctica.