Dresden 2026 – wissenschaftliches Programm

Bereiche | Tage | Auswahl | Suche | Aktualisierungen | Downloads | Hilfe

UP: Fachverband Umweltphysik

UP 6: Upper Atmosphere, Polar Chemistry and Volcanic Aerosols

UP 6.2: Vortrag

Mittwoch, 11. März 2026, 09:45–10:00, MER/0002

Bromine Explosion signals in Arctic snow — •Stefanie Falk¹, Hogo El-Mansi², Ariane Le Cardinal¹, Luca Reißig^1,4, Bianca Zilker³, Andreas Richter³, Hans-Werner Jacobi², and Björn-Martin Sinnhuber¹ — ¹Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute of Meteorology and Climate Reseach, Atmospheric Trace Gases and Remote Sensing, Karlsruhe, Germany — ²nstitute of Environmental Geosciences (IGE), Université Grenoble Alpes / CNRS / Grenoble INP / INRAE / IRD, Grenoble, France — ³University of Bremen, Institute of Environmental Physics, Bremen — ⁴German Weather Service, Offenbach, Germany

Ozone (O₃) volume mixing ratios (VMR) below 5 ppb are frequently observed during springtime in the polar boundary layer. The destruction of O₃ is caused by reactive halogen compounds, likely dominated by bromine (Br₂) released from salty ice and snow. The driving mechanism leads to exponential growth in Br₂ VMR during so-called Bromine Explosions (BEs). Increased vertical column densities (VCD) of bromine monoxide (BrO) are regularly observed by remote sensing. Long-term observations of O₃ at Arctic coastal sites and BrO indicate emerging signals of a changing climate. We also compare modeled bromine deposition on snow to bromide concentrations determined in snow samples taken at Spitsbergen in 2024. To this end, we use the ECHAM/MESSy Atmospheric Chemistry (EMAC) model, including a treatment of bromine release, recycling on ice and snow-covered surfaces, and parameterized emissions from sea salt aerosols. We discuss implications for the assumed sources of Br₂ in the Arctic.

Keywords: Ozone depletion; Bromine explosions; Snow; Plolar boundary layer; Climate change