The IGAC SSC first endorsed AICI in 2003 in light of research demonstrating new processes observed in the polar regions at the air-ice interface. The goal of AICI is to assess the significance of these processes at local, regional, and global scales by bringing together the laboratory, field, and modeling communities. The first phase of AICI was very successful providing important information on the full range of processes and trace gases that are exchanged at the air/ice and snow/ice interface and how they related to atmospheric chemistry and climate. The first phase resulted in various publications, including a Special Issue in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. In June 2011, AICI held a workshop at Columbia University, USA that brought together new insights from AICI studies over the last eight years, including work carried out at part of Ocean-Atmosphere-Sea Ice-Snowpack (OASIS), International Polar Year (IPY), and another IGAC Activity Halogens in the Troposphere (HitT). The past eight years of research produced new insights into cirrus ice and NOY chemistry of the upper troposphere, air-snowpack exchange, and the role of halogen activation in the polar boundary layer. Much discussion during the workshop dealt with novel laboratory results that provide a molecular level understanding of the chemistry in snow and with the challenge to connect those to field observations by appropriate models. The challenge to develop detailed snow-chemistry models that better describe and predict air-snow interactions is considerable given that the chemistry proceeds via multiple steps, the snow is highly heterogeneous, and the number of important trace gases and radicals is numerous. The outcome of the Columbia University workshop was a joint special issue in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and Earth System Data on “New Perspectives on Air-Ice Chemical Interactions”.
Recent Workshops
Chemical Atmosphere-Snow-Sea Ice Interactions: taking the next big step in field, lab & modeling
Cambridge, UK
13-15 October 2014
IGACnews Workshop Summary
AICI 3rd Workshop
Columbia University, New York USA
6-7 June 2011
IGACnews Workshop Summary
Related Publications
New perspectives on Air-Ice Chemical Interactions (AICI) Special Issue (2013) Eds. V. F. McNeill, E. Wolff, T. Bartels-Rausch, and H. Pfeiffenberger. Atmos. Chem. Phys.
Air Ice Chemical Interactions (AICI) Special Issue (2007) Eds. P. Shepson, B. Sturges, and E. Wolf. Atmos Chem Phys.
Publications
New perspectives on Air-Ice Chemical Interactions (AICI) Special Issue (2013) Eds. V. F. McNeill, E. Wolff, T. Bartels-Rausch, and H. Pfeiffenberger. Atmos. Chem. Phys.
Air Ice Chemical Interactions (AICI) Special Issue (2007) Eds. P. Shepson, B. Sturges, and E. Wolf. Atmos Chem Phys.