Elemental and mineral characterisation of Coastal Antarctic Aerosols in snow using PIXE and SEM-EDAX

The chemical constituents of snow from a 3 m pit sampled at a coastal Antarctic site were characterised by means of PIXE and SEM-EDAX. Oxygen isotope dating revealed that the pit spanned an 8-year period, from 1986 to 1994. Concentrations measured by PIXE ranged from less than 1 ng g⁻¹ of H₂O for Cu, and Zn to several tens of ng g⁻¹ for Si, S and Cl. The major elements found were Si, S, Al, and Na, which contributed more than 75% of the element loading. Snow layers with elevated Cl concentration were regularly found along the pit. The mineralogy of the insoluble particles determined by SEM-EDAX analyses showed that quartz, plagioclase and clays were the prevalent minerals. The proportion of each element in the insoluble phase was comparable with that previously found in similar studies.