Journal of Earth Science & Climatic Change
Open Access

Abstract

Aerosol sulfate in the remote environment plays an important role in radiative forcing at global scales. Polar Regions, where constraints on precipitation formation are poorly documented are more susceptible to global warming than at mid-latitudes and equatorial regions. Feedback dynamics relating atmospheric sulfate to cloud and precipitation formation processes may be key to understanding the factors contributing to radiative forcing and may be amplified in the Arctic. A high resolution ice core record of sulfate in precipitation from ~1700 m on the Prince of Wales Icefield on Ellesemere Island in the Canadian Arctic archipelago was analyzed. Isotope source apportionment was performed to quantify the amount of sulfate from sea salt, continental and biogenic sulfate at sub-seasonal resolution from the late 1990â??s. Less resolved intervals were derived for sulfate sources for sections of the ice core record representing pre-industrial periods. Insights on the relationship between the ice core sulfate record and sulfate characteristics in snow and aerosols collected more recently in the Arctic at surface level from remote locations will be discussed with respect to their potential impact on climate.

Biography

Ann-Lise Norman completed her PhD in 1994 at the University of Calgary including a year at the Institute for Ecotoxicology in Braunschweig, Germany. She holds the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and held the position of Director of the University of Calgaryâ??s Environmental Science program from 2008-2011. She has published more than 25 papers as well as a number of book chapters in well respected journals. She edited the NATO publication International Air Pollution Modeling and Its Application XVII.