Magnesium methanesulfonate salt found in the Dome Fuji (Antarctica) ice core

Abstract

Abstract Using micro-Raman spectroscopy, we identified the chemical forms of methanesulfonate salt particles in reference samples of the Dome Fuji (Antarctica) ice core. We found only (CH 3 SO 3 )2Mg nH 2 O among methanesulfonate salts, and this salt particle is most prevalent in the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) ice. We suggest that during the LGM, (CH 3 SO 3 ) 2 Mg nH 2 O may have formed in the atmosphere through the chemical reaction of CH 3 SO 3 H with sea salts, but probably not in the firn and ice due to the neutralization of acid in LGM ice of inland Antarctica.