Photolysis imprint in the nitrate stable isotope signal in snow and atmosphere of East Antarctica and implications for reactive nitrogen cycling

Abstract

The nitrogen (δ15N) and triple oxygen (δ17O and δ18O) isotopic composition of nitrate (NO3−) was measured year-round in the atmosphere and snow pits at Dome C, Antarctica (DC, 75.1° S, 123.3° E), and in surface snow on a transect between DC and the coast. Comparison to the isotopic signal in atmospheric NO3− shows that snow NO3− is significantly enriched in δ15N by >200‰ and depleted in δ18O by <40‰. Post-depositional fractionation in Δ17O(NO3−) is small, potentially allowing reconstruction of past shifts in tropospheric oxidation pathways from ice cores. Assuming a Rayleigh-type process we find fractionation constants.