Methanesulfonic acid in coastal Antarctic snow related to sea-ice extent

• Published in: Geophysical research letters Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 443 - 446
• Main Authors: Welch, K. A., Mayewski, P. A., Whitlow, S. I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC Blackwell Publishing Ltd 19.03.1993; American Geophysical Union
• Subjects: 540120 > Environment, Atmospheric > Chemicals Monitoring & Transport > (1990-); 540320 > Environment, Aquatic > Chemicals Monitoring & Transport > (1990-); ANTARCTIC REGIONS; ANTARCTICA; ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS; BIOSPHERE; Climate; Coastal; CRYOSPHERE; Earth, ocean, space; ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION; ELEMENTS; EMISSION; ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; Exact sciences and technology; External geophysics; Geophysics; GLACIERS; ICE; Marine; NONMETALS; ORGANIC COMPOUNDS; ORGANIC SULFUR COMPOUNDS; POLAR REGIONS; SEAS; SNOW; Snow. Ice. Glaciers; Southern Ocean; SULFUR; SURFACE WATERS 540220 > Environment, Terrestrial > Chemicals Monitoring & Transport > (1990-); Time series; VARIATIONS; Antarctica; Southern Ocean; PS, Antarctica; PSE, Antarctica, Victoria Land; PS, Antarctic Ocean; Methane sulfonic acid; Glacier; Snow; Coastal zone; Sea ice
• ISSN: 0094-8276; 1944-8007
• DOI: 10.1029/93GL00499

Proxy records of biogenic sulfur gas obtained from ice cores suggest that variability in marine biogenic sulfur emissions may reflect changes in climate [Saigne and Legrand, 1987; Legrand et al., 1988, Legrand et al., 1991; Anderson and Charlson, 1991]. Increased sea‐ice extent has previously been proposed as one cause of relatively high methanesulfonic acid (MSA) in glacial‐age ice core samples [Gibson et al., 1990]. We have analyzed MSA, one of the oxidation products of the biogenic sulfur gas dimethylsulfide [Hatakeyama et al., 1985], from snowpit samples recovered from a coastal site in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. Time series of MSA correlate significantly with the longest continuous record available of Southern Ocean sea‐ice extent (two decades) [Jacka, 1990].