2013 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Location and chemical form of aerosol-origin impurities within Antarctic snow packs

Research Project

Project/Area Number	24840044
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up
Allocation Type	Single-year Grants
Research Field	Meteorology/Physical oceanography/Hydrology
Research Institution	Kitami Institute of Technology (2013) National Institute of Polar Research (2012)
Principal Investigator	OHNO hiroshi 北見工業大学, 工学部, 助教 (80634625)
Project Period (FY)	2012-08-31 – 2014-03-31
Keywords	極地 / 気候変動 / エアロゾル / 雪氷化学
Research Abstract	Using the fluorinert-immersion method developed in this study, we performed microscopic observations and micro-Raman analysis of aerosol-origin particles within Antarctic snow pack. In surface snow cover, impurity particles of micron-size were rarely found; and Raman signals of water-soluble salts were not detected from these inclusions. On the other hand, in firn near the close-off depth, a number of supermicron particles that mainly consist of the sodium and calcium sulfates were observed. These findings indicate that, after the deposition of submicron water-soluble aerosol to surface snow cover, the redistribution and reaction of chemical species occur in firn, resulting in the active growth and alteration of aerosol-origin particles with increasing snow-depth.

(3 results)