Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland
In a yearlong investigation of the air-snow transfer function for nitrate (NO3−) at the Greenland Environmental Observatory, Summit (3203 m above sea level), surface snow concentrations measured every other day were compared with levels measured in 10 snow pits dug adjacent to accumulation stakes. C...
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ftunivbern:oai:boris.unibe.ch:158303 2023-08-20T04:06:53+02:00 Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland Burkhart, John F. Hutterli, Manuel Bales, Roger C. McConnell, Joseph R. 2004 application/pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/158303/1/burkhart04jgr.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/158303/ eng eng American Geophysical Union https://boris.unibe.ch/158303/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Burkhart, John F.; Hutterli, Manuel; Bales, Roger C.; McConnell, Joseph R. (2004). Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 109(D19), pp. 1-9. American Geophysical Union 10.1029/2004JD004658 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004658> 530 Physics info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion PeerReviewed 2004 ftunivbern https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004658 2023-07-31T22:08:01Z In a yearlong investigation of the air-snow transfer function for nitrate (NO3−) at the Greenland Environmental Observatory, Summit (3203 m above sea level), surface snow concentrations measured every other day were compared with levels measured in 10 snow pits dug adjacent to accumulation stakes. Concentrations in the surface snow ranged from 0.4 to 34 μM with a mean of 2.9 ± 1.9 μM. Measured firn profiles in the snow pits had a maximum NO3− concentration of 12 μM and a mean of 2.7 ± 0.5 μM. Reconstructed profiles from surface snow observations and accumulation data closely matched the observed profiles. The small difference in preserved concentrations from observed surface snow concentrations gives evidence of only 7% postdepositional loss at this site (mean annual accumulation ∼23 g cm−2 yr−1). Removing the three highest outliers (which may originate from local sources) of surface snow concentration drops the mean to 2.7 μM, further demonstrating preservation. Results indicate that at this site accumulation is the most significant process affecting preservation of nitrate in the firn. Other rapid postdepositional processes may impact surface snow concentrations, but do not appear to significantly change the preserved record. The inverse analysis of converting preserved records to surface snow concentrations provides equivalent evidence of the same preservation. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) Greenland Journal of Geophysical Research 109 D19 |
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BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) |
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ftunivbern |
language |
English |
topic |
530 Physics |
spellingShingle |
530 Physics Burkhart, John F. Hutterli, Manuel Bales, Roger C. McConnell, Joseph R. Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland |
topic_facet |
530 Physics |
description |
In a yearlong investigation of the air-snow transfer function for nitrate (NO3−) at the Greenland Environmental Observatory, Summit (3203 m above sea level), surface snow concentrations measured every other day were compared with levels measured in 10 snow pits dug adjacent to accumulation stakes. Concentrations in the surface snow ranged from 0.4 to 34 μM with a mean of 2.9 ± 1.9 μM. Measured firn profiles in the snow pits had a maximum NO3− concentration of 12 μM and a mean of 2.7 ± 0.5 μM. Reconstructed profiles from surface snow observations and accumulation data closely matched the observed profiles. The small difference in preserved concentrations from observed surface snow concentrations gives evidence of only 7% postdepositional loss at this site (mean annual accumulation ∼23 g cm−2 yr−1). Removing the three highest outliers (which may originate from local sources) of surface snow concentration drops the mean to 2.7 μM, further demonstrating preservation. Results indicate that at this site accumulation is the most significant process affecting preservation of nitrate in the firn. Other rapid postdepositional processes may impact surface snow concentrations, but do not appear to significantly change the preserved record. The inverse analysis of converting preserved records to surface snow concentrations provides equivalent evidence of the same preservation. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Burkhart, John F. Hutterli, Manuel Bales, Roger C. McConnell, Joseph R. |
author_facet |
Burkhart, John F. Hutterli, Manuel Bales, Roger C. McConnell, Joseph R. |
author_sort |
Burkhart, John F. |
title |
Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland |
title_short |
Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland |
title_full |
Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland |
title_sort |
seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at summit, greenland |
publisher |
American Geophysical Union |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
https://boris.unibe.ch/158303/1/burkhart04jgr.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/158303/ |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland |
genre_facet |
Greenland |
op_source |
Burkhart, John F.; Hutterli, Manuel; Bales, Roger C.; McConnell, Joseph R. (2004). Seasonal accumulation timing and preservation of nitrate in firn at Summit, Greenland. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 109(D19), pp. 1-9. American Geophysical Union 10.1029/2004JD004658 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004658> |
op_relation |
https://boris.unibe.ch/158303/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1029/2004JD004658 |
container_title |
Journal of Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
109 |
container_issue |
D19 |
_version_ |
1774718238126505984 |