Articles | Volume 15, issue 19
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11243-2015
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-15-11243-2015
Research article
 | 
09 Oct 2015
Research article |  | 09 Oct 2015

Isotopic effects of nitrate photochemistry in snow: a field study at Dome C, Antarctica

T. A. Berhanu, J. Savarino, J. Erbland, W. C. Vicars, S. Preunkert, J. F. Martins, and M. S. Johnson

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Cited articles

Aristidi, E., Agabi, K., Azouit, M., Fossat, E., Vernin, J., Travouillon, T., Lawrence, J. S., Meyer, C., Storey, J. W. V., Halter, B., Roth, W. L., and Walden, V.: An analysis of temperatures and wind speeds above Dome C, Antarctica, Astron. Astrophys., 430, 739–746, https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361:20041876, 2005.
Berhanu, T. A., Meusinger, C., Erbland, J., Jost, R., Bhattacharya, S. K., Johnson, M. S., and Savarino, J.: Laboratory study of nitrate photolysis in Antarctic snow. II. Isotopic effects and wavelength dependence, J. Chem. Phys., 140, 244306, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4882899, 2014.
Blunier, T., Floch, G. L., Jacobi, H. W., and Quansah, E.: Isotopic view on nitrate loss in Antarctic surface snow, Geophys. Res. Lett., 32, L13501, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005gl023011, 2005.
Bohlke, J. K., Mroczkowski, S. J., and Coplen, T. B.: Oxygen isotopes in nitrate: new reference materials for O-18 : O-17 : O-16 measurements and observations on nitrate-water equilibration, Rapid Commun. Mass Sp., 17, 1835–1846, https://doi.org/10.1002/Rcm.1123, 2003.
Casciotti, K. L., Sigman, D. M., Hastings, M. G., Bohlke, J. K., and Hilkert, A.: Measurement of the oxygen isotopic composition of nitrate in seawater and freshwater using the denitrifier method, Anal. Chem., 74, 4905–4912, https://doi.org/10.1021/Ac020113w, 2002.
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Short summary
In this field study at Dome C, Antarctica, we investigated the effect of solar UV photolysis on the stable isotopes of nitrate in snow via comparison of two identical snow pits while exposing only one to solar UV. From the difference between the average isotopic fractionations calculated for each pit, we determined a purely photolytic nitrogen isotopic fractionation of -55.8‰, in good agreement with what has been recently determined in a laboratory study.
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