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Speciation analysis of iodine and bromine at picogram-per-gram levels in polar ice

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Abstract

Iodine and bromine species participate in key atmospheric reactions including the formation of cloud condensation nuclei and ozone depletion. We present a novel method coupling a high-performance liquid chromatography with ion chromatography and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, which allows the determination of iodine (I) and bromine (Br) species (IO −3 , I−, Br−, BrO −3 ) at the picogram-per-gram levels presents in Antarctic ice. Chromatographic separation was achieved using an IONPAC® AS16 Analytical Column with NaOH as eluent. Detection limits for I and Br species were 5 to 9 pg g−1 with an uncertainty of less than 2.5% for all considered species. Inorganic iodine and bromine species have been determined in Antarctic ice core samples, with concentrations close to the detection limits for iodine species, and approximately 150 pg g−1 for Br−. Although iodate (IO −3 ) is the most abundant iodine species in the atmosphere, only the much rarer iodide (I−) species was present in Antarctic Holocene ice. Bromine was found to be present in Antarctic ice as Br−.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the University of Siena and IDPA-CNR. We are grateful to colleagues at the University of Venice for instrumental and technical assistance and in particular to Dr. Warren Cairns of the IDPA-CNR for the discussion on speciation. The Talos Dome Ice Core Project (TALDICE), a joint European program, is funded by contributions from Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. Logistical support was provided by PNRA. This is TALDICE publication no 17.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Science, University of Siena, Via del Laterino 8, 53100, Siena, Italy

    Andrea Spolaor

  2. Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes - CNR, University of Venice, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123, Venice, Italy

    Andrea Spolaor, Jacopo Gabrieli, Natalie Kehrwald, Clara Turetta, Giulio Cozzi & Carlo Barbante

  3. Centre for Ice and Climate, Niels Bohr Institute, Juliane Maries Vej 30, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Paul Vallelonga

  4. Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University Ca’ Foscari of Venice, Dorsoduro 2137, 30123, Venice, Italy

    Luisa Poto & Carlo Barbante

  5. School of Chemistry, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK

    John M. C. Plane

  6. Laboratoire de Glaciologie et Géophysique de l’Environnement, UMR UJF/CNRS 5183, 54, rue Molière, Domaine Universitaire, B.P. 96, 38402, Saint Martin d’ Hères, France

    C. Boutron

  7. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Centro B. Segre, via della Lungara 10, 00196, Rome, Italy

    Carlo Barbante

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Correspondence to Carlo Barbante.

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Published in the special issue Analytical Science in Italy with guest editor Aldo Roda.

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Spolaor, A., Vallelonga, P., Gabrieli, J. et al. Speciation analysis of iodine and bromine at picogram-per-gram levels in polar ice. Anal Bioanal Chem 405, 647–654 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-012-5806-0

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