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Contribution of sea ice in the Southern Ocean to the cycling of volatile halogenated organic compounds
Author(s) -
Granfors Anna,
Karlsson Anders,
Mattsson Erik,
Smith Walker O.,
Abrahamsson Katarina
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/grl.50777
Subject(s) - sea ice , seawater , oceanography , salinity , chlorophyll a , environmental science , geology , chemistry , biochemistry
The contribution of sea ice to the flux of biogenic volatile halogenated organic compounds to the atmosphere in the Southern Ocean is currently not known. To approach this question, we measured halocarbons in sea ice, sea ice brine, and surface water of the Amundsen and Ross Seas. Concentrations in sea ice of these compounds, normalized to seawater salinity, ranged from 0.2 to 810 pmol L −1 . Salinity‐normalized chlorophyll a concentrations in the ice ranged from 3.5 to 190 µg L −1 . Our results suggest biological production of halocarbons in sea ice, with maxima of halogenated organics and chlorophyll a commonly found in the interior of the ice cores. Iodinated VHOCs were found to be more enriched in sea ice than brominated ones. Furthermore, depth distributions indicated a transport of halocarbons from sea ice to air and underlying water.