A 3mm line survey in 37 IR dark clouds

After determining kinematic distances, we eliminated clumps that are not located in IRDCs and clumps with a separation between them of less than one Mopra beam. Our final sample consists of 92 IRDC clumps.

The most commonly detected molecular lines are (detection rates higher than 8%) N_2_H^+^, HNC, HN^13^C, HCO^+^, H^13^CO^+^, HCN, C_2_H, HC_3_N, HNCO, and SiO. We investigate the behavior of the different molecular tracers and look for chemical variations as a function of an evolutionary sequence based on Spitzer IRAC and MIPS emission. Optical depth calculations show that in IRDC clumps the N_2_H^+^ line is optically thin, the C_2_ H line is moderately optically thick, and HNC and HCO^+^ are optically thick.