The Snow Dragon, carrying the Thermo Fisher AG system, set sail deep into the Arctic in July this year for atmospheric aerosol trace component analysis. It returned triumphantly on the morning of September 26th and returned to the coast.

Figure 1: The Snow Dragon, fully prepared for deployment

New discoveries of pollution and a new starting point for exploration

In early 2018, Chinese scientists discovered the presence of plastic particles in the Antarctic waters, confirming that the last pristine land of the Earth is also being eroded. Why do various artificial pollutants appear in the rarely visited polar oceans? One possible reason could be atmospheric circulation.

Due to the persistent and strong long-term transport capacity of atmospheric aerosols, their spatial distribution and transport conditions can more accurately demonstrate the direction and source of pollution. However, the composition and causes of atmospheric aerosols are still under ongoing debate. The known solution can only tell us the mass of suspended particulate matter and the content of major elements, but cannot analyze and trace the aerosol components one by one.

In recent years, research has shown that the main causes of atmospheric aerosol formation are ammonia (amine) and organic acid substances in the atmosphere above the ocean, rather than inorganic ions that occupy the main content, such as metal ions, sulfate ions, chloride ions, nitrates, ammonium ions, etc.

However, these conclusions still have limitations:

Under the current chromatographic conditions, the separation and determination of common small molecule organic amines and organic acids have not been completed.

2. Amines and organic acids are highly volatile and decompose, but research results are mostly obtained through offline sampling and laboratory analysis, and there have been no reports of on-site monitoring.

The climate and environmental processes in the Arctic region directly affect China's climate and environmental changes, and a more detailed and accurate analysis of the composition and causes of aerosols in polar environments is particularly important. The ninth Arctic scientific expedition, which lasted for 69 days, was successfully carried out by the "Xuelong" scientific research vessel, which sailed safely for over 12500 nautical miles. The atmospheric aerosol trace component analysis project, jointly conducted by Thermo Fisher Scientific and the Third Research Institute of the State Oceanic Administration, proceeded smoothly.

Figure 2: Stable Sitting in the Inner Cabin of the Snow Dragon

Snow Dragon's New Journey - Always Accompanying You

Thermo Fisher Scientific's integrated aerosol ion component determination solution, including automatic sampling, automatic sample purification, automatic sample transfer, and automatic sample analysis, has been selected by the Third Research Institute of the State Oceanic Administration. Along with the trajectory of the "Xuelong" spacecraft, it accurately and completely records the concentration and distribution characteristics of 27 inorganic cations, organic carboxylic acids, and organic amine compounds in aerosols in the waters passing through the Arctic scientific expedition with a time resolution of "hours".

Figure 3 Simultaneous analysis of 11 inorganic cations and organic amines

Figure 4 Simultaneous analysis of 16 inorganic anions and organic acids

1、 Unmanned only adding water, integrated solution automation

Thermo Fisher's "water only" ion chromatography system only requires ultrapure water supply, fully utilizing electrolytic water and ion exchange effects, relying on precise current supply, generating pollution-free eluent and inhibitor electrolytic regeneration inhibition solution online, ensuring continuous operation of chromatographic analysis relying on ultrapure water. The integrated online pure water machine provides all ultrapure water supply for aerosol component capture and chromatographic analysis, enabling the overall testing scheme to be automated.

2、 Micro porous system with high sensitivity, environmentally friendly and low emissions

Thermo Fisher's 2mm chromatographic analysis solution not only provides several times higher sensitivity than conventional laboratory analysis, but also reduces monthly reagent consumption and waste liquid emissions to 1/4. The integrated solution of BURG generates less than 38L of water and waste liquid per month, which is environmentally friendly and requires less operation and maintenance, far superior to peers.

3、 Thermo Fisher columns occupy the head of the turtle, with high organic inorganic discrimination

Thermo Fisher Scientific's strong research and production capabilities in chromatographic column technology provide long column lifetimes and a wide range of compound separation and analysis options. Up to 27 types of inorganic cations and anions, organic acids, and organic amines can be quickly analyzed and determined within 27 minutes, making this scheme stand out even more.