Atmospheric, Snow and Firn Chemistry Studies for Interpretation of WAIS-Divide Cores

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Frey/0636929This award supports a project to understand how recent changes in atmospheric chemistry, and historical changes as recorded in snow, firn and ice, have affected atmospheric photochemistry over Antarctica. Atmospheric, snow and firn core measurements of selected gas, meteorological and snow physical properties will be made and modeling of snow-atmosphere exchange will be carried out. The intellectual merit of the project is that it will lead to a better an understanding of the atmospheric chemistry in West Antarctica, its bi-directional linkages with the snowpack, and how it responds to regional influences. There are at least four broader impacts of this work. First is education of university students at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. One postdoctoral researcher and one graduate student will carry out much of the work, and a number of undergraduates will be involved. Second, involvement with the WAIS-Divide coring program will be used to help recruit under-represented groups as UC Merced students. As part of UC Merced's outreach efforts in the San Joaquin Valley, whose students are under-represented in the UC system, the PI and co-PI give short research talks to groups of prospective students, community college and high school educators and other groups. They will develop one such talk highlighting this project. Including high-profile research in these recruiting talks has proven to be an effective way to promote dialog, and interest students in UC Merced. Third, talks such as this also contribute to the scientific literacy of the general public. The PI and grad student will all seek opportunities to share project information with K-14 and community audiences. Fourth, results of the research will be disseminated broadly to the scientific community, and the researchers will seek additional applications for the transfer functions as tools to improve interpretation of ice-cores. This research is highly collaborative, and leverages the expertise and data from a number of other groups.