Brief communication: Analysis of organic matter in surface snow by PTR-MS – implications for dry deposition dynamics in the Alps

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: Materić, Dušan, Ludewig, Elke, Xu, Kangming, Röckmann, Thomas, Holzinger, Rupert
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2019
• Subjects: article; Verlagsveröffentlichung; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-297-2019; https://noa.gwlb.de/receive/cop_mods_00003418; https://noa.gwlb.de/servlets/MCRFileNodeServlet/cop_derivate_00003376/tc-13-297-2019.pdf; https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/13/297/2019/tc-13-297-2019.pdf

The exchange of organic matter (OM) between the atmosphere and snow is poorly understood due to the complex nature of OM and the convoluted processes of deposition, re-volatilisation, and chemical and biological processing. OM that is finally retained in glaciers potentially holds a valuable historical record of past atmospheric conditions; however, our understanding of the processes involved is insufficient to translate the measurements into an interpretation of the past atmosphere. This study examines the dynamic processes of post-precipitation OM change at the alpine snow surface with the goal of interpreting the processes involved in surface snow OM.