Nature 311, 43 - 45 (06 September 1984); doi:10.1038/311043a0

Measurements of hydrogen peroxide in polar ice samples

A. Neftel^*, P. Jacob^† & D. Klockow^†

^*Physics Institute, University of Bern, Switzerland
^†Department of Chemistry, University of Dortmund, FRG

Hydrogen peroxide, a powerful oxidant, is believed to be a key component in the oxidation of SO₂ to H₂SO₄ in clouds¹. The first quantitative H₂O₂ measurements in snow, rain, hoarfrost and fog were reported in 1874 (ref. 2), however, systematic investigations of H₂O₂ concentrations in precipitation and hydrometeors began only a few years ago^3,4. We report here measurements of hydrogen peroxide in polar ice samples. To our knowledge, chemically-reactive species have not been previously analysed in ice core samples. Our measurements show that H₂O₂ is a dominant trace compound present in clouds over remote and clean areas.

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