Baseline Acidity of Ancient Precipitation from the South Pole

Measurements of meltwater pH from annual layers of South Pole firn and ice samples ranging in age from 40 to 2000 years B.P. show that precipitation at this remote site has a higher natural acidity than that expected from atmospheric equilibrium with CO2. The average pH of deaerated (CO2-free) sampl...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Cragin,J H, Giovinetto,M B, Gow,A J
Other Authors: COLD REGIONS RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING LAB HANOVER NH
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 1984
Subjects:
Meteorology
Geology
Geochemistry and Mineralogy
Snow
Ice and Permafrost
*ICE
*PH FACTOR
CHEMICAL ANALYSIS
ANTARCTIC REGIONS
CORE SAMPLING
ICE CAPS
*Acid precipitation
*Ancient precipitation
Antarctic
South Pole
Antarc*
Ice
permafrost
South pole
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA145007
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA145007
Description
Summary:Measurements of meltwater pH from annual layers of South Pole firn and ice samples ranging in age from 40 to 2000 years B.P. show that precipitation at this remote site has a higher natural acidity than that expected from atmospheric equilibrium with CO2. The average pH of deaerated (CO2-free) samples was 5.64 + or - 0.08, while air-equilibrated samples averaged 5.37 + or - 0.008, a pH that is about a factor of two more acidic than the expected background pH of 5.65. The observed 'excess' acidity can be accounted for by natural SO4(2)- and NO(3)- levels in the samples probably originating from non-anthropogenic H2SO4 and HNO3. Because of the presence of these naturally occurring acids in South Pole precipitation, a pH of 5.4 is considered a more representative baseline reference pH for acid precipitation studies.

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