Real-time analysis of insoluble particles in glacial ice using single-particle mass spectrometry
Insoluble aerosol particles trapped in glacial ice provide insight into past climates, but analysis requires information on climatically relevant particle properties, such as size, abundance, and internal mixing. We present a new analytical method using a time-of-flight single-particle mass spect...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2017-11-01
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| Series: | Atmospheric Measurement Techniques |
| Online Access: | https://www.atmos-meas-tech.net/10/4459/2017/amt-10-4459-2017.pdf |
| Summary: | Insoluble aerosol particles trapped in glacial ice provide insight into past
climates, but analysis requires information on climatically relevant particle
properties, such as size, abundance, and internal mixing. We present a new
analytical method using a time-of-flight single-particle mass spectrometer
(SPMS) to determine the composition and size of insoluble particles in
glacial ice over an aerodynamic size range of ∼ 0.2–3.0 µm diameter. Using samples from two Greenland ice cores, we developed
a procedure to nebulize insoluble particles suspended in melted ice,
evaporate condensed liquid from those particles, and transport them to the
SPMS for analysis. We further determined size-dependent extraction and
instrument transmission efficiencies to investigate the feasibility of
determining particle-class-specific mass concentrations. We find SPMS can be
used to provide constraints on the aerodynamic size, composition, and
relative abundance of most insoluble particulate classes in ice core samples.
We describe the importance of post-aqueous processing to particles, a process
which occurs due to nebulization of aerosols from an aqueous suspension of
originally soluble and insoluble aerosol components. This study represents an
initial attempt to use SPMS as an emerging technique for the study of
insoluble particulates in ice cores. |
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| ISSN: | 1867-1381 1867-8548 |