We are sampling!

We have started air sampling at our lab on Cake Eater Road!  Kyle is measuring BrO_x and ClO_x via a new flow tube method, followed by gas chromatography.  Kerri is measuring primarily Br₂, Cl₂, BrCl, BrO, and HOBr using chemical ionization mass spectrometry.  These are gases involved in air-snow/sea ice reactions here in the Arctic.  The bromine (Br) and chlorine (Cl) are thought to originate from salts in the seawater that are enriched at the sea ice surface during freezing.  The most common salt in seawater is sodium chloride (NaCl), which we also know as the table salt we add to our food at the dinner table!  Measuring these gases in the Arctic will help us understand how the atmosphere in the Arctic might change due to loss of sea ice.  Soon BROMEX will start, and we will compare our ground-based data to that from satellite retrievals and aircraft-based measurements!

Kyle setting up his sampling inlet and flow-tube on the roof of the lab

Kyle with his flow-tube inlet on the roof of the lab

Kyle working on his gas chromatograph

Kerri working on the mass spectrometer

Mass spectrometer sampling inlet

Thank you very much to Dave for helping with the mass spectrometer set-up!