An Ion-Chromatography Based Continuous Flow Analyzer for Soluble Chemical Species in Ice Cores

极地冰芯的化学分析是获得古气候史和大气化学的宝贵信息的最有用的工具之一。主要可溶性化学杂质的测量是几乎所有冰芯研究计划和项目的必要和不可分割的一部分。离子色谱法是测量极地冰雪样品中所有主要和一些次要离子化学物质的最有效的分析技术。最近，基于熔体的连续流动分析（CFA）系统被开发出来，以提高化学分析速度，以满足对精确、高分辨率冰芯化学数据的高要求。由于光谱（紫外可见分光光度法和荧光光谱法）检测技术的局限性，目前的CFA系统无法测量融水中的所有主要阴离子和阳离子。极地雪中无法用光谱法检测到的重要物质包括硫酸盐、甲磺酸盐、镁和钾。该奖项支持一个项目，该项目将获得几个高质量的商业IC仪器，与一个新的冰芯融化系统接口，对所有主要离子种类（包括硫酸盐和甲磺酸）进行连续的在线冰芯分析。该项目将开发一个基于连续熔化和在线集成电路检测和测定的综合冰芯化学分析系统。项目计划是：(1)建立一个新的冰芯熔化系统，(2)获取离子色谱仪，(3)将离子色谱仪与熔化器连接起来，(4)为集成的熔化-集成电路系统开发附件、程序和协议，该系统可用于常规实验室冰芯分析，并可能用于大型现场冰芯项目。

Chemical analysis of polar ice cores is one of the most useful tools for obtaining valuable information on paleoclimate history and atmospheric chemistry. Measurements of major soluble chemical impurities are a necessary and integral part of almost all ice core research programs and projects. Ion chromatography (IC) is the most effective analytical technique for measuring all major and some minor ionic chemical species in polar snow and ice samples. Recently, melter-based continuous flow analysis (CFA) systems have been developed to increase chemical analysis speeds in order to meet the high demand for accurate, high-resolution ice core chemistry data. Current CFA systems cannot measure all of the major anions and cations in meltwater because of the limitations of the spectrometric (UV-visible spectrophotometry and spectrofluorometry) detection techniques. Important species in polar snow that cannot be detected by spectrometry include sulfate, methanesulfonate, magnesium and potassium. This award supports a project to acquire several high-quality, commercial IC instruments to interface with a new ice core melting system to perform continuous, on-line ice core analysis for all major ionic species, including sulfate and methanesulfonate. The project will develop an integrated ice core chemical analysis system based on continuous melting and on-line IC detection and determination. Project plans are: (1) to build a new ice core melter system, (2) to acquire the ion chromatographs, (3) to interface the ion chromatographs with the melter, and (4) to develop accessories, procedures and protocols for the integrated melter-IC system that can be used in routine lab analysis of ice cores and potentially in large field ice core programs.