Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica

Abstract The sulfur stable isotopic values (δ34S) of sulfate aerosols can be used to assess oxidation pathways and contributions from various sources, such as marine biogenic sulfur, volcanoes, and sea salt. However, because of a lack of observations, the spatial distribution of δ34S values in Antar...

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Main Authors: Ryu Uemura, Kosuke Masaka, Kotaro Fukui, Yoshinori Iizuka, Motohiro Hirabayashi, Hideaki Motoyama
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-06-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069482
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author Ryu Uemura
Kosuke Masaka
Kotaro Fukui
Yoshinori Iizuka
Motohiro Hirabayashi
Hideaki Motoyama
author_facet Ryu Uemura
Kosuke Masaka
Kotaro Fukui
Yoshinori Iizuka
Motohiro Hirabayashi
Hideaki Motoyama
author_sort Ryu Uemura
collection DOAJ
description Abstract The sulfur stable isotopic values (δ34S) of sulfate aerosols can be used to assess oxidation pathways and contributions from various sources, such as marine biogenic sulfur, volcanoes, and sea salt. However, because of a lack of observations, the spatial distribution of δ34S values in Antarctic sulfate aerosols remains unclear. Here we present the first sulfur isotopic values from surface snow samples along a latitudinal transect in eastern Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The δ34S values of sulfate showed remarkably uniform values, in the range of 14.8–16.9‰, and no significant decrease toward the inland part of the transect was noted. These results suggest that net isotopic fractionation during long‐range transport is insignificant. Thus, the δ34S values can be used to infer source contributions. The δ34S values suggest that marine biogenic sulfur is the dominant source of sulfate aerosols, with a fractional contribution of 84 ± 16%.
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issn 0094-8276
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series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-6bfff0d07d33461ab265bdb84c0431bb2025-08-20T03:10:25ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072016-06-0143115878588510.1002/2016GL069482Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East AntarcticaRyu Uemura0Kosuke Masaka1Kotaro Fukui2Yoshinori Iizuka3Motohiro Hirabayashi4Hideaki Motoyama5Department of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science University of the Ryukyus Okinawa JapanDepartment of Chemistry, Biology and Marine Science, Faculty of Science University of the Ryukyus Okinawa JapanTateyama Caldera Sabo Museum Toyama JapanInstitute of Low Temperature Science Hokkaido University Sapporo JapanNational Institute of Polar Research Tokyo JapanNational Institute of Polar Research Tokyo JapanAbstract The sulfur stable isotopic values (δ34S) of sulfate aerosols can be used to assess oxidation pathways and contributions from various sources, such as marine biogenic sulfur, volcanoes, and sea salt. However, because of a lack of observations, the spatial distribution of δ34S values in Antarctic sulfate aerosols remains unclear. Here we present the first sulfur isotopic values from surface snow samples along a latitudinal transect in eastern Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The δ34S values of sulfate showed remarkably uniform values, in the range of 14.8–16.9‰, and no significant decrease toward the inland part of the transect was noted. These results suggest that net isotopic fractionation during long‐range transport is insignificant. Thus, the δ34S values can be used to infer source contributions. The δ34S values suggest that marine biogenic sulfur is the dominant source of sulfate aerosols, with a fractional contribution of 84 ± 16%.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069482sulfur isotopessulfate aerosolsDMSAntarcticaclimateice core
spellingShingle Ryu Uemura
Kosuke Masaka
Kotaro Fukui
Yoshinori Iizuka
Motohiro Hirabayashi
Hideaki Motoyama
Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica
Geophysical Research Letters
sulfur isotopes
sulfate aerosols
DMS
Antarctica
climate
ice core
title Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica
title_full Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica
title_fullStr Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica
title_full_unstemmed Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica
title_short Sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in East Antarctica
title_sort sulfur isotopic composition of surface snow along a latitudinal transect in east antarctica
topic sulfur isotopes
sulfate aerosols
DMS
Antarctica
climate
ice core
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069482
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AT kosukemasaka sulfurisotopiccompositionofsurfacesnowalongalatitudinaltransectineastantarctica
AT kotarofukui sulfurisotopiccompositionofsurfacesnowalongalatitudinaltransectineastantarctica
AT yoshinoriiizuka sulfurisotopiccompositionofsurfacesnowalongalatitudinaltransectineastantarctica
AT motohirohirabayashi sulfurisotopiccompositionofsurfacesnowalongalatitudinaltransectineastantarctica
AT hideakimotoyama sulfurisotopiccompositionofsurfacesnowalongalatitudinaltransectineastantarctica