Physics
Scientific paper
Jul 2005
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2005georl..3213501b&link_type=abstract
Geophysical Research Letters, Volume 32, Issue 13, CiteID L13501
Physics
20
Atmospheric Composition And Structure: Troposphere: Composition And Chemistry, Cryosphere: Snow (1827, 1863), Cryosphere: Ice Cores (4932), Geographic Location: Antarctica (4207)
Scientific paper
Massive post-depositional processes alter the nitrate concentration in polar firn where the annual snow accumulation is low. This hinders a direct atmospheric interpretation of the ice core nitrate record. Fractionation of nitrate isotopes during post-depositional nitrate loss may allow estimating the amount of nitrate loss in the past. We measured δ15N of nitrate in two Antarctic surface cores from the Dome C area. In concert with the known concentration decrease with depth we observe an increase in the isotopic signature. Assuming a Rayleigh type process we find an isotope effect of $\varepsilon$ = -54‰. We measured the fractionation factor for photolysis in the laboratory and obtained $\varepsilon$ = -11.7 +/- 1.4‰. As the observed fractionation factor in the firn is much lower this rules out that photolysis in the surface snow is the main process leading to the dramatic nitrate loss in the top centimeters of the firn.
Blunier Thomas
Floch Grégoire L.
Jacobi Hans-Werner
Quansah Emmanuel
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