Impact of preindustrial biomass‐burning emissions on the oxidation pathways of tropospheric sulfur and nitrogen

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
• Main Authors: Alexander, B., Savarino, J., Kreutz, K., Thiemens, M.
• Other Authors: Department of Chemistry, UCSD, University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), University of California (UC)-University of California (UC), Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2004
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Greenland; Greenland ice core; ice core
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-04418348; https://hal.science/hal-04418348/document; https://hal.science/hal-04418348/file/Journal%20of%20Geophysical%20Research%20Atmospheres%20-%202004%20-%20Alexander%20-%20Impact%20of%20preindustrial%20biomass%E2%80%90burning%20emissions%20on%20the.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1029/2003JD004218

International audience Ice core measurements (H 2 O 2 and CH 4 /HCHO) and modeling studies indicate a change in the oxidation capacity of the atmosphere since the onset of the Industrial Revolution due to increases in fossil fuel burning emissions [e.g., Lelieveld et al. , 2002 Hauglustaine and Brasseur , 2001 Wang and Jacob , 1998 Staffelbach et al. , 1991 ]. The mass‐independent fractionation (MIF) in the oxygen isotopes of sulfate and nitrate from a Greenland ice core reveal that biomass‐burning events in North America just prior to the Industrial Revolution significantly impacted the oxidation pathways of sulfur and nitrogen species deposited in Greenland ice. This finding highlights the importance of biomass‐burning emissions for atmospheric chemistry in preindustrial North America and warrants the inclusion of this impact in modeling studies estimating changes in atmospheric oxidant chemistry since the Industrial Revolution, particularly when using paleo‐oxidant data as a reference for model evaluation.