Date of Award
2011
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (MS)
College, School or Department Name
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Advisor
Paul Vincent Doskey
Abstract
Measurements of NOx within the snowpack at Summit, Greenland were carried out from June 2008 to July 2010, using a novel system to sample firn air with minimal disruption of the snowpack. These long-term measurements were motivated by the need of improving the representation of air-snow interactions in global models. Results indicated that the NOx budget within the snowpack was on the order of 550 pptv as maximum, and was constituted primarily for NO2. NOx production was observed within the first 50 cm of the snowpack during the sunlight season between February and August. Presence of NOx at larger depths was attributed to high speed wind and vertical transport processes. Production of NO correlated with the seasonal incoming radiation profile, while NO2 maximum was observed in April. These measurements constitute the larger data set of NOx within the firn and will improve the representation of processes driving snow photochemistry at Summit.
Recommended Citation
Toro, Claudia, "Nitrogen oxides in the firn air at Summit, Greenland", Master's Thesis, Michigan Technological University, 2011.