I have now data from all samples that I have collected in Montreal, Parc Tremblant and Mont Saint Hilaire. The latter two sampling spots were 2.5 hrs north and 40 min east of Montreal respectively. The profile of determined compounds is pretty anthropogenic with a lot of substituted benzenes (with some chlorinated compounds). A lot of aliphatic aldehydes (e.g. nonanal), alcohols and ketones (octanol. MEK) are also part of the mix.
What is interesting is that the large chunk of biogenic and halogenated compounds that I have detected in last year’s samples are not there, despite the significantly improved detection limit. Also, concentrations were 10-100x smaller. There could be a lot of reasons for his – sampling location, meteorological conditions, snow properties/age … and I will try to get an idea by using ancillary and snow properties data in order to shed some light on this issue, although I am not sure,if I will be successful.
I have also increased the number of compounds that I can now quantify – from 6 to 12, a nice step forward. I can now quantify most aromatic compounds; oxygenated compounds are next.
