A Preliminary Investigation of Diffusion of Volatile Atmospheric Acids in Snow

Abstract

A preliminary cold room experiment was conducted to determine the diffusion rate of several reactive atmospheric chemical contaminants in snow at -70 degrees C. These species included formaldehyde, p-nitrotoluene (PNT), HNO3, and HCI. Because of detection or contamination problems we could not quantify diffusion rate for formaldehyde, PNT, or HNO3. However, the diffusivity of HCI in snow (p = 0.38 g/cu cm) was found to be >7.7 x 10(exp -4) sq cm/s. This is about two orders of magnitude greater than hitherto expected and suggests that HCI may be rapidly redistributed or lost from seasonal snowpacks. Thus, one should be cautious in interpreting temporal records of HCI and other volatile species in seasonal or polar snowpacks, until their integrity is better established.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 2003
Accession Number
ADA421422

Entities

People

  • Daniel C. Leggett
  • James H. Cragin

Organizations

  • Engineer Research and Development Center

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acids
  • Atmospheric Chemistry
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemical Synthesis
  • Chemistry
  • Coefficients
  • Cold Regions
  • Contamination
  • Dielectric Gases
  • Engineering
  • Engineers
  • Fluids
  • Liquids
  • Mass Transfer
  • Partial Pressure
  • Sorption
  • Temperature Gradients

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Materials Science and Engineering.
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Polar and Arctic Studies