Snowpack-atmosphere gas exchanges of carbon dioxide, ozone, and nitrogen oxides at a hardwood forest site in northern Michigan

Abstract

Abstract Snowpack-atmosphere gas exchanges of CO2, O3, and NOx (NO + NO2) were investigated at the University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS), a mid-latitude, low elevation hardwood forest site, during the 2007–2008 winter season. An automated trace gas sampling system was used to determine trace gas concentrations in the snowpack at multiple depths continuously throughout the snow-covered period from two adjacent plots. One natural plot and one with the soil covered by a Tedlar sheet were setup for investigating whether the primary source of measured trace gases was biogenic (i.e., from the soil) or non-biogenic (i.e., from the snowpack). The results were compared with the “White on Green” study conducted at the Niwot Ridge (NWT) Long Term Ecological Research site in Colorado. The average winter CO2 flux ± s.e. from the soil at UMBS was 0.54 ± 0.037 µmol m-2 s-1 using the gradient diffusion method and 0.71 ± 0.012 µmol m-2 s-1 using the eddy covariance method, and in a similar range as found for NWT. Observed snowpack-O3 exchange was also similar to NWT. However, nitrogen oxides (NOx) fluxes from snow at UMBS were 10 times smaller than those at NWT, and fluxes were bi-directional with the direction of the flux dependent on NOx concentrations in ambient air. The compensation point for the change in the direction of NOx flux was estimated to be 0.92 nmol mol-1. NOx in snow also showed diurnal dependency on incident radiation. These NOx dynamics in the snow at UMBS were notably different compared to NWT, and primarily determined by snow-atmosphere interactions rather than by soil NOx emissions.

Keywords

• winter flux
• snowpack
• nitrogen oxides