Snow-atmosphere Transfer Function for Reversibly Deposited Chemical Species in West Antarctica

Summary

This data set is part of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet Cores (WAISCORES) project, an NSF-funded project to understand the influence of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet on climate and sea level change. WAISCORES researchers acquired and analyzed snow pit and core samples from the Siple Dome, in the Siple Coast region, West Antarctica. This data set includes glaciochemical spatial variability data for six Siple Dome snow pits. Samples involved measuring hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and formaldehyde (HCHO) in the air, snow, firn, and ice via suppressed ion chromatography. The data can be used to interpret changes in concentrations of these species recorded in ice cores. Data in this collection were obtained during two Antarctic field seasons in 1994 to 1995 and 1996 to 1997. Data are available via FTP in tab-delimited ASCII text (.dat, .txt) file format.

Citing These Data

The following example shows how to cite the use of this data set in a publication. For more information, see our Use and Copyright Web page.

The following example shows how to cite the use of this data set in a publication. List the principal investigators, year of data set release, publisher: NSIDC, and digital media.

Bales, R. and J. McConnell. 2003. Snow-atmosphere Transfer Function for Reversibly Deposited Chemical Species in West Antarctica. Boulder, Colorado, USA: National Snow and Ice Data Center. http://dx.doi.org/10.7265/N5ZP441W.

Overview Table

Category	Description
Data format	ASCII data (.dat) and text files (.txt)
Spatial coverage and resolution	Southernmost Latitude: 81°S Northernmost Latitude: 81°S Westernmost Longitude: 149°W Easternmost Longitude: 149°W
Temporal coverage and resolution	Data were collected in 1994 to 1995 and 1996 to 1997 Antarctic field seasons (November to February).
File naming convention	94pita_h2o2.dat 96pit1_h2o2.dat metah2o2.txt
File size	The data set is 40 KB total.
Parameter(s)	Hydrogen peroxide concentration in micromolars (uM, 10-6) Depth in meters (m)
Procedures for obtaining data	Data are available via FTP.

Table of Contents

1. Contacts and Acknowledgments
2. Detailed Data Description
3. Data Access and Tools
4. Data Acquisition and Processing
5. References and Related Publications
6. Document Information

1. Contacts and Acknowledgments

Investigator(s)

Dr. Roger Bales
University of Arizona
Department of Hydrology and Water Resources
Tucson, AZ 85721
USA

Dr. Joseph McConnell
Desert Research Institute
Division of Hydrological Sciences
2215 Raggio Parkway
Reno, NV 89512
USA

Technical Contact

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by NSF ANT grant 9526572.

2. Detailed Data Description

Format

Data are available as tab-delimited ASCII text files (.dat, .txt).

File and Directory Structure

Data are available on the FTP site in the ftp://sidads.colorado.edu/pub/DATASETS/AGDC/waiscores/bales/ directory. Table 1 lists the files in this directory:

Table 1. Files in the /AGDC/waiscores/bales/ directory

File Name	Description
94pita_h2o2.dat 94pitb_h2o2.dat 94pitc_h2o2.dat	Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) measurements for snow pits 1, 2 and 6 from UNH, 1994
96pit1_h2o2.dat 96pit2_h2o2.dat 96pitb_h2o2.dat	Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and formaldehyde (HCHO) measurements for snow pits, 1996
metah2o2.txt	Notes related to the data set, available as an ASCII text file

File Naming Convention

Files are named according to the following convention and as described in Table 2:

YYpitX_h2o2.dat

Where:

Table 2. File Naming Convention

Variable	Description
YY	2-digit year, 94 or 96
X	Snow pit site identification: Snow pits 1, 2 and 6 from UNH for 1994 season, a, b, c Snow pit near the science Jamesway in 1996 season, 1 Snow pit dug with M. Albert in 1996 season, 2 Backlit "B" snow pit in 1996 season, b
.dat	File extension

File Size

The data set contains 7 files ranging in size from 1 KB to 7 KB.

Spatial Coverage

Ice core data were collected at the Siple Dome site in the Siple Coast region of Antarctica.

Southernmost Latitude: 81°S
Northernmost Latitude: 81°S
Westernmost Longitude: 149°W
Easternmost Longitude: 149°W

Temporal Coverage

Data were obtained during two Antarctic field seasons (November to February) in 1994 to 1995 and 1996 to 1997.

Parameter or Variable

Parameters for hydrogen peroxide concentration analysis include the depth in meters (m) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration in micromolars (uM).

Parameter Description

Chemical species data files include depth and concentration measurements for snow pits at Siple Dome summit. Table 3 provides details on the files and parameters.

Table 3. Chemical Species Data Files and Parameters

Parameter	Description
Chemical Species Analysis
Hydrogen Peroxide Concentration	File containing atmospheric concentrations of hydrogen peroxide in micromolars (uM) and depth in meters (m)

Sample Data Record

Below is a sample record of the hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration analysis data files from 96pitb_h2o2.dat. Only the first four data records are shown.

Hydrogen Peroxide Analysis:

H2O2 (uM)	Depth (m)
12.9412	-0.005
10.1471	-0.015
7.38235	-0.025
3.11765	-0.035

3. Data Access and Tools

Data Access

Data are available via FTP.

Volume

The total volume of the data set is 40 KB.

Software and Tools

Data are accessible using standard spreadsheet software.

Related Data Collections

• Twenty-Three Century-scale Ice Core Records of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) from West Antarctica
• Atmospheric Mixing Ratios of Hydroperoxides above the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

4. Data Acquisition and Processing

Snow pit and core samples were collected at three snow pits on the Siple Dome summit during the 1994 to 1995 season and at three snow pits during the 1996 to 1997 season. Samples were analyzed at high resolution for hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) concentration. Workers used nonparticulating suits, polyethylene gloves, and particle masks to collect all snow pit and core samples without chemical contamination. Hydrogen peroxide concentration measurements were measured via suppressed ion chromatography. For more information on data acquisition and processing methods, see the researchers' notes in metah2o2.txt, the Major Findings, and the References and Related Publications listed below.

5. References and Related Publications

Hutterli, M. A., R. C. Bales, J. R. McConnell, and R. W. Stewart. 2002. HCHO in Antarctic Snow: Preservation in Ice Cores and Air-snow Exchange. Geophysical Research Letters 29(8), 1235: doi:10.1029/2001GL014256.

Hutterli, M. A., J. R. McConnell, G. Chen, R. C. Bales, D. D. Davis, and D. H. Lenschow. 2004. Formaldehyde and Hydrogen Peroxide in Air, Snow and Interstitial Air at South Pole. Atmospheric Environment 38:5439–5450: doi:10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.06.003.

Kreutz, K. J., P. A. Mayewski, M. S. Twickler, S. I. Whitlow, J. W. C. White, C. A. Shuman, C. R. Raymond, H. Conway, and J. R. McConnell. 1999. Seasonal Variations of Glaciochemical, Isotopic, and Stratigraphic Properties in Siple Dome, Antarctica Surface Snow. Annals of Glaciology 29:1-7: doi:10.3189/172756499781821193.

McConnell, J. R. 1997. Investigation of the Atmosphere-snow Transfer Process for Hydrogen Peroxide. Ph.D. Dissertation, Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Arizona.

McConnell, J. R. and R. C. Bales. 1998. Understanding Atmosphere-to-snow-to-firn Transfer of Hydrogen Peroxide at Siple Dome. Presented at the Chapman Conference on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, Orono, Maine.

McConnell, J., R. Stewart, M. Hutterli and R. Bales. 1999. Modeling Reversible Atmosphere-to-snow Transfer and Preservation of Hydrogen Peroxide in Antarctica. Eos, Transactions, American Geophysical Union A32-D12.

Table 4 list related documents that are available on the NSIDC Web site.

Table 4. Related Documents

Document	Description	URL
WAISCORES	Project Web site	http://nsidc.org/data/waiscores/
Antarctic Glaciological Data Center	Data center Web site	http://nsidc.org/agdc/

6. Document Information

Acronyms

The acronyms used in this document are listed in Table 5.

Table 5. Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronym	Description
ANT	Antarctic Sciences Division
.DAT	Data file extension
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
H2O2	Hydrogen peroxide, H2O2
HCHO	Formaldehyde
NSF	National Science Foundation
NSIDC	National Snow and Ice Data Center
.TXT	Text file extension
UM	Micromolars, 10-6
URL	Uniform Resource Locator
WAISCORES	Western Divide West Antarctic Ice Cores

Document Creation Date

28 December 2009

Document URL

http://nsidc.org/data/docs/agdc/nsidc0122_bales/index.html