Polar Firn Air Alkanes from Antarctica and Greenland

Ethane, propane, and n-butane measurements in dry air molar mixing ratios from firn air samples at three polar sites. Data were collected from the South Pole and West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide in 2005/06 and 2008/09, and from Summit, Greenland in 2006. Analyses were conducted using gas chromatography - mass spectrometry at the University of California, Irvine.

Use Cases

• Analyze ethane, propane, and n-butane mixing ratios across different sampling depths to study gas diffusion in firn.
• Compare alkane concentrations between Antarctic and Greenland sites to assess geographical variability.
• Use reported measurement uncertainties to evaluate data precision for trend analysis.
• Correlate gas measurements with sampling year (2005-2009) to investigate temporal changes in polar atmospheric composition.

Strengths

• Measurements include associated uncertainties for quality assessment.
• Data represent means from multiple measurements on more than one flask for most sampling depths.
• Covers three distinct polar research sites: South Pole, WAIS Divide, and Summit.

Limitations

• Sample size and number of rows are unknown.
• Data temporal coverage is limited to specific campaigns between 2005 and 2009.
• Geographic coverage is restricted to three polar locations.

Provenance

Source

University of California, Irvine, via AMD_USAPDC and NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

Gas chromatography - mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of air samples collected from firn.

Time Range

2005-2009

Freshness

Data last updated in January 2009.

Geography

South Pole and West Antarctic Ice Sheet Divide, Antarctica; Summit, Greenland.