Arctic ice core records of vanillic acid
Abstract
Biomass burning plays a major role in climate, atmospheric chemistry, and the carbon cycle. In this study, past trends in biomass burning are investigated by measuring vanillic acid in polar ice cores. Vanillic acid is an aromatic acid produced by the incomplete combustion of lignin and found in biomass burning aerosols. Ion chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to measure ultra-trace levels of vanillic acid in Arctic ice cores from Siberia, Greenland, Svalbard, and Canada. The Siberian record shows strong centennial variability in burning that is similar in timing to regional Siberian charcoal records and the episodic pulsing of ice-rafted debris in the North Atlantic Ocean. The highest levels of vanillic acid were found in the Canadian ice core, ranging from below detection (0.01 ppb) to 1 ppb. The Greenland and Svalbard records exhibit vanillic acid levels lower than those in Siberia and Canada, suggesting greater distance from the source regions. The observed spatial and temporal variability is discussed in the context of the drivers of biomass burning.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.C13B0828G
- Keywords:
-
- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0762 Mass balance 0764 Energy balance;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 0792 Contaminants;
- CRYOSPHEREDE: 1863 Snow and ice;
- HYDROLOGY