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Firn Record of Trace Gases Relevant to Atmospheric Chemical Change over 100 yrs (FIRETRACC/100)

This data was collected as a result of the FIRETRACC/100 (Firn Record of Trace Gases Relevant to Atmospheric Chemical Change over 100 yrs) project conducted in 1998 and 1999. The FIRETRACC project aimed to determine the history of numerous trace gases of both human (pollution) and natural origin over the 20th century in the global atmosphere. This was achieved by pumping old air out of deep unconsolidated snow (known as firn) that accumulates to depths of around 50 to 100 m on the polar ice caps of both hemispheres. The resulting firn air samples from the Arctic and Antarctic were returned to Europe and the US for multiple gas and isotope analysis in a number of research laboratories. The firn air samples were analysed for well over eighty separate trace gases (halocarbons, non-methane hydrocarbons, alkyl nitrates, sulphur species, etc.), and thirteen different isotopic measurements of CO2, CH4, CO and permanent gases (O2, N2, Ar, Kr).

In summary, the objectives of FIRETRACC/100 are as follows:

* To determine the global trends of trace gases relevant to troposphericchemistry over the 20th century. These will include CO, the isotopiccomposition of CO, hydrocarbons, alkyl nitrates, numerous OH-reactivehalocarbons (such as methyl chloride, methyl chloroform, methyl bromide,hydrochlofluorocarbons, etc.), and sulphur gases (COS, CS2, etc.). Trends of longer lived gases will also be determined for dating purposes (CO2, CFCs,SF6, perfluorocarbons, etc.)

* Determine the evolution of inter-hemispheric ratios of OH-sensitive species to constrain modelled global OH fields

* Examine ratios of parent hydrocarbons to alkyl nitrates to place constraints on NOX fields in models

* Elucidate the sources of CO from isotopic studies and use to deconvolute CO/methane coupling in models

* Reconstruct the history of ozone, OH and tropospheric oxidising capacity over the past 100 years using full chemistry 2-D models

* Determine the influence of 20th century industrialisation on the gas phase composition and chemistry of the lower atmosphere

The data consists of ‘primary’ data comprising simple concentration versus depth profiles, and for selected gases also ‘secondary’ data comprising reconstructed historical trends. The firn diffusion model, used in the model reconstruction, is also available through this site.

Simple

Date (Publication)
2006-12-10T03:03:33
Date (Creation)
2006-12-10T03:03:33
Identifier
https://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/41a6e20ba98c4913ea6893e2fcb5aec5
Identifier
NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) / 41a6e20ba98c4913ea6893e2fcb5aec5
Author
  EU FIRETRACC Campaign participants - author
Author
  Unavailable - Atlas, Elliot ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Barnola, J-M ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Brenninkmeijer, Carl ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Mulvaney, R. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Schwander, J. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Sturges, William T. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Penkett, M. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Penkett, Stuart A. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Chappellaz, J. ( author )
Author
  Unavailable - Jouzel, J. ( author )
Custodian
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - custodian
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Distributor
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - distributor
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
pointofContact
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - point_of_contact
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Publisher
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - publisher
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
Maintenance and update frequency
unknown Unknown
Update scope
series Series
Keywords
  • FIRETRACC
  • Chemistry
  • Aerosols
GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
  • atmospheric conditions
Access constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
Please contact the data centre for assistance on accessing data from this dataset collection.
Use constraints
otherRestrictions Other restrictions
Other constraints
Under the following licence http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/, appropriate use of these data may fall under any use. This message is intended as guidance, always read the full licence. When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record.
Spatial representation type
grid Grid
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Topic category
  • Climatology, meteorology, atmosphere
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Begin date
1998-03-31T23:00:00
End date
1998-04-29T23:00:00
Unique resource identifier
WGS 84
Distribution format
  • Contact data centre for format details. ()

Distributor
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC) - Data Center Contact
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
OnLine resource
CEDA Data Catalogue Page

Detail and access information for the resource

OnLine resource
The European Commission Environment and Climate Programme (4th Framework) website

No further details.

OnLine resource
Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center

No further details.

OnLine resource
British Antarctic Survey

No further details.

OnLine resource
Climate and Environmental Physics, University of Bern

No further details.

OnLine resource
National Snow and Ice Data Centre

No further details.

OnLine resource
BADC Doc: FIRETRACC Help file

No further details.

OnLine resource
BADC Doc: FIRETRACC List of References

No further details.

Hierarchy level
series Series

Conformance result

Date (Publication)
2010-12-08
Statement
Please see data lineage statements for each dataset within this collection for data lineage details.
File identifier
41a6e20ba98c4913ea6893e2fcb5aec5 XML
Metadata language
EnglishEnglish
Character set
8-bit variable size UCS Transfer Format, based on ISO/IEC 10646 UTF8
Hierarchy level
series Series
Hierarchy level name
series
Date stamp
2025-11-15T03:26:44
Metadata standard name
UK GEMINI
Metadata standard version
2.3
Point of contact
  NCAS British Atmospheric Data Centre (NCAS BADC)
British Atmospheric Data Centre , STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory , Harwell Oxford , OX11 0QX , UK
+44(0)1235 446432
 
 

Overviews

Spatial extent

N
S
E
W
thumbnail


Keywords

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0
atmospheric conditions

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