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Title: Molecular Characterization of Water-Soluble Brown Carbon Chromophores in Snowpack from Northern Xinjiang, China

Journal Article · · Environmental Science and Technology

This study reports molecular-level characterization of brown carbon (BrC) attributed to water-soluble organic carbon in six snowpack samples collected from northern Xinjiang, China. Here, the molecular composition and light-absorbing properties of BrC chromophores were unraveled by application of high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to a photodiode array (PDA) detector and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The chromophores were classified into five major types, that is, (1) phenolic/lignin-derived compounds, (2) flavonoids, (3) nitroaromatics, (4) oxygenated aromatics, and (5) other chromophores. Identified chromophores account for ~23–64% of the total light absorption measured by the PDA detector in the wavelength range of 300–370 nm. In the representative samples from urban and remote areas, oxygenated aromatics and nitroaromatics dominate the absorption in the wavelengths below and above 320 nm, respectively. The highly polluted urban sample shows the most complex HPLC-PDA chromatogram, and more other chromophores contribute to the bulk absorption. Phenolic/ lignin-derived compounds are the most light-absorbing species in the soil-influenced sample. Chromophores in two remote samples exhibit ultraviolet–visible features distinct from other samples, which are attributed to flavonoids. Identification of individual chromophores and quantitative analysis of their optical properties are helpful for elucidating the roles of BrC in snow radiative balance and photochemistry.

Research Organization:
Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Data Center
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Biological and Environmental Research (BER); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); China Scholarship Council (CSC)
Contributing Organization:
Lanzhou University; Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL); Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL); Argonne National Laboratory (ANL)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0021977
OSTI ID:
1867341
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1880349; OSTI ID: 1908099
Journal Information:
Environmental Science and Technology, Vol. 56, Issue 7; Related Information: supplemental file; ISSN 0013-936X
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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