Study of the MSA, nssSO 2- 4 concentration and MSA to nssSO 2- 4 ratio in the snow/ice and atmospheric aerosols of the regions surrounding the Weddell Sea

The MSA and nssSO 2- 4 concentration data from the ice cores and from atmospheric aerosols of the regions surrounding Weddell Sea have been analyzed in the present paper. The results suggest that the high concentration of biogenic sulphur in the snow and ice as well as in the atmospheric aerosols reflects the proximity of the Weddell Sea even though a distinct strength discrepancy exists in the productivity among the areas. The snow/ice shows that the production seems to be higher in the middle of the Antarctic Peninsula than near the Filchner Ronne ice shelf. Despite the factors impacting on the transportation and deposition processes of biogenic surlphur, the concentration of MSA and nssSO 2- 4 in snow and ice shows a regular spatial distribution: decreasing with the distance from the open sea and the altitude above sea level. Nevertheless, below a certain height, the “altitude effect” is no longer significant. The “displacement” of seasonality for MSA concentration observed in ice cores of the regions has been discussed. The “out of phase” pattern in surface layer is attributed to the modification by prevailing meteorological condition to the transport and deposition process; while “relocation” in the deep layers may be caused by migration, a mechanism for which is to be further investigated.The comparative study of the atmospheric and snow/ice samples implies that at the high altitude like the Weddell Sea the atmospheric signal of SO 2- 4 and MSA could be somewhat muted in the snow samples. But the seasonal variations in the airborn sulphate and MSA are reasonably well reproduced in the surface snow, for temporal and spacial distribution. The very close ratio of MSA to nssSO 2- 4 (or to SO 2- 4) of atmospheric aerosol and snow/ice sample is indicative of weak, if any, fraction between the two species during the scavenging and deposition processes. This could serve as the internal cause to explain the relative stable MSA/nssSO 2- 4 ratio, both for atmosphere and snow, an important regional specificity for the study of marine biogenic sulphur.