Investigation of Natural Perchlorate Levels in Antarctic Snow in Relation to the Ozone Hole

• Main Authors: Crawford, Thomas, Kub, Alexandria, Cho, Han Vid
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: Open PRAIRIE: Open Public Research Access Institutional Repository and Information Exchange 2015
• Subjects: Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Sciences; Antarctic; Austral; West Antarctic Ice Sheet; South Pole; Antarc*; Ice Sheet; South pole
• Online Access: https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/jur/vol13/iss1/2; https://openprairie.sdstate.edu/context/jur/article/1000/viewcontent/JUR_2015_v13_article_1.pdf

Snow samples collected from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide in January 2013 were analyzed for perchlorate concentrations to determine a possible seasonal variation. These samples were dated for the years 2007 through 2012 using annual variations in sulfate concentration as determined by an ion chromatography (IC) method. Perchlorate concentrations in the samples were measured with an IC instrument paired with tandem mass spectrometry detection. The concentration data show that perchlorate reached an annual maximum concentration in the austral autumn seasons, assuming that snowfall was relatively constant throughout the course of each year. Comparison with published total column ozone density at the South Pole shows that the perchlorate annual maximum does not occur in the same seasons when ozone is at a minimum level.