Welcome to the Home Page of
Summit Snow Photochemistry!

Who are we and what are we doing?
We are a group of roughly 20 scientists who are studying snow photochemistry at Summit, the highest point on the Greenland ice sheet, at an altitude of 10,500 feet. Our goal is to find out how sunlight-initiated reactions in the snow affect the composition of the snow and the atmosphere above it. We are particularly interested in examining how these reactions affect levels of radicals, the highly reactive chemicals that play a big part in destroying many atmospheric pollutants. Our results should help us understand how air quality in snow-covered regions is affected by reactions in the snow - whether it's at a relatively clean site like Summit or at a polluted site in the northern U.S. during winter. We are doing this work at Summit because it is a relatively clean site far from pollution sources, which allows us to more sensitively study the snow reactions.

To find out more…
Click on the links in the navigation bar at the left to learn more about our research, see who we are, read what it's like to live at Summit, learn more about Greenland, and get links to other websites about the coldest places on earth. We welcome you to explore!

Our sponsor - the National Science Foundation
This research is made possible by financial support from the National Science Foundation through the Arctic Natural Sciences Program in the Office of Polar Programs. Logistical support for our research, including food, shelter, heat, and all the other items needed for life, are provided by the wonderful people at Veco Polar Resources.

Site last updated 22 June 2003.
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