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Arctic wetlands and surrounding ecosystems are both a significant source of methane (CH4) and a sink of carbon dioxide (CO2) during summer months. However, precise quantification of this regional CH4 source and CO2 sink remains poorly characterized. A research flight using the UK Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurement was conducted in July 2019 over an area (approx. 78 000 km2) of mixed peatland and forest in northern Sweden and Finland. Area-averaged fluxes of CH4 and carbon dioxide were calculated using an aircraft mass balance approach. Net CH4 fluxes normalized to wetland area ranged between 5.93 ± 1.87 mg m−2 h−1 and 4.44 ± 0.64 mg m−2 h−1 (largest to smallest) over the region with a meridional gradient across three discrete areas enclosed by the flight survey. From largest to smallest, net CO2 sinks ranged between −513 ± 74 mg m−2 h−1 and −284 ± 89 mg m−2 h−1 and result from net uptake of CO2 by vegetation and soils in the biosphere. A clear gradient of decreasing bulk and area-averaged CH4 flux was identified from north to south across the study region, correlated with decreasing peat bog land area from north to south identified from CORINE land cover classifications. While N2O mole fraction was measured, no discernible gradient was measured over the flight track, but a minimum flux threshold using this mass balance method was calculated. Bulk (total area) CH4 fluxes determined via mass balance were compared with area-weighted upscaled chamber fluxes from the same study area and were found to agree well within measurement uncertainty. The mass balance CH4 fluxes were found to be significantly higher than the CH4 fluxes reported by many land-surface process models compiled as part of the Global Carbon Project. There was high variability in both flux distribution and magnitude between the individual models. This further supports previous studies that suggest that land-surface models are currently ill-equipped to accurately capture carbon fluxes inthe reg

Airborne and ground-based measurements of methane (CH4), carbon dioxide (CO2) and boundary layer thermodynamics were recorded over the Fennoscandian landscape (67–69.5° N, 20–28° E) in July 2012 as part of the MAMM (Methane and other greenhouse gases in the Arctic: Measurements, process studies and Modelling) field campaign. Employing these airborne measurements and a simple boundary layer box model, net regional-scale (~ 100 km) fluxes were calculated to be 1.2 ± 0.5 mg CH4 h−1 m−2 and −350 ± 143 mg CO2 h−1 m−2. These airborne fluxes were found to be relatively consistent with seasonally averaged surface chamber (1.3 ± 1.0 mg CH4 h−1 m−2) and eddy covariance (1.3 ± 0.3 mg CH4 h−1 m−2 and −309 ± 306 mg CO2 h−1 m−2) flux measurements in the local area. The internal consistency of the aircraft-derived fluxes across a wide swath of Fennoscandia coupled with an excellent statistical comparison with local seasonally averaged ground-based measurements demonstrates the potential scalability of such localised measurements to regional-scale representativeness. Comparisons were also made to longer-term regional CH4 climatologies from the JULES (Joint UK Land Environment Simulator) and HYBRID8 land surface models within the area of the MAMM campaign. The average hourly emission flux output for the summer period (July–August) for the year 2012 was 0.084 mg CH4 h−1 m−2 (minimum 0.0 and maximum 0.21 mg CH4 h−1 m−2) for the JULES model and 0.088 mg CH4 h−1 m−2 (minimum 0.0008 and maximum 1.53 mg CH4 h−1 m−2) for HYBRID8. Based on these observations both models were found to significantly underestimate the CH4 emission flux in this region, which was linked to the under-prediction of the wetland extents generated by the models.

To probe the spatial extent of tropospheric ozone depletion events during Antarctic spring, a network of 10 autonomous ozone monitors was established around the Dronning Maud Land sector of Antarctica for a full calendar year. Together with manned stations in the area, the network covered a ~1200 km stretch of coast, as well as a transect ~300 km inland and to ~2000 m above sea level (a.s.l.). Here we present results from the spring period (August to October 2008). While some ozone depletion events were evident at only a single site, implying localised ozone destruction, others were evident across the network. The fact that, on occasions, ozone depletion events were observed at all coastal sites simultaneously, suggests the depleted air mass had a scale of at least 1200 km. As the ozone-poor air was advected from the Weddell Sea sea ice zone, the data imply that large areas over the Weddell Sea sea ice zone are significantly depleted in ozone on occasions during Antarctic spring.

Nitrate is frequently measured in ice cores, but its interpretation remains immature. Using daily snow surface concentrations of nitrate at Halley (Antarctica) for 2004 - 2005, we show that sharp spikes (> factor 2) in nitrate concentration can occur from day to day. Some of these spikes will be preserved in ice cores. Many of them are associated with sharp increases in the concentration of sea salt in the snow. There is also a close association between the concentrations of aerosol nitrate and sea salt aerosol. This evidence is consistent with many of the spikes in deposited nitrate being due to the conversion or trapping of gas- phase nitrate, i. e. to enhanced deposition rather than enhanced atmospheric concentrations of NOy. Previously, sharp spikes in nitrate concentration (with concentration increases of up to a factor 4 seen in probably just one snowfall) have been assigned to sharp production events such as solar proton events (SPEs). We find that it is unlikely that SPEs can produce spikes of the kind seen. Taken together with our evidence that such spikes can be produced depositionally, we find that it is not possible to track past SPEs without carrying out a new multi- site and multi- analyte programme. Seasonal and interannual trends in nitrate concentration in cores from any single site cannot be interpreted in terms of production changes until the recycling of nitrate from central Antarctica to coastal Antarctica is better quantified. It might be possible to assess the interannual input of NOy to the Antarctic lower troposphere by using a network of cores to estimate variability in the total annual deposition across the continent (which we estimate to be 9 +/- 2 x 10(7) kg/a - as NO3-), but it will first have to be established that the outflow across the coast can be ignored.

An automated gas chromatograph with sample pre-concentration for the measurement of peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) was constructed with a minimum detection limit below 1 pptv. This instrument was deployed at the British Antarctic Survey's Halley Research Station, Antarctica (75.6 degrees S, 26.6 degrees W) as part of the CHABLIS (Chemistry of the Antarctic Boundary Layer and the Interface with Snow) campaign. Hourly measurements were carried out between July 2004 and February 2005 with observed maximum and minimum mixing ratios of 52.3 and < 0.6 pptv, respectively with a mean PAN mixing ratio for the measurement period of 9.2 pptv (standard deviation: 6.2 pptv). The changes in PAN mixing ratios typically occurred over periods of several days to a week and showed a strong similarity to the variation in alkenes. The mixing ratio of PAN at Halley has a possible seasonal cycle with a winter maximum and summer minimum, though the cycle is incomplete and the data are very variable. Calculations indicate that gross local PAN production is approximately 1 pptv d(-1) in spring and 0.6 pptv d(-1) in summer. Net loss of PAN transported to Halley in the summer is a small gas-phase source of NOx and net production of PAN in the spring is a very small NOx sink.

[1] Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the wavelength and temperature dependence of NO and NO2 release from Antarctic snow. This photochemically driven process has been observed during recent field measurements in polar regions. In this work the photochemical production of NO and NO2 was reproduced under laboratory conditions with NO2 dominating the production. The wavelength of incident light was varied over the range 295-385 nm. We observed a lambda dependence where NO and NO2 release ceases when the snow was illuminated with lambda > 345 nm. Comparing these data with the aqueous absorption cross section of the nitrate ion (NO3-) indicates that NO3- is the precursor N-oxide species, which is photolyzed in snow. The temperature of the experimental system was varied over the range 253-243 K with no effect on NO and NO2 production. The occurrence of these photochemical processes followed by release to the atmosphere will impact the chemistry of the boundary layer over any snow-covered region. In addition, understanding these processes is essential for accurate ice core interpretation.