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Measurement report: Spatial variations in ionic chemistry and water-stable isotopes in the snowpack on glaciers across Svalbard during the 2015–2016 snow accumulation season
Abstract
The Svalbard archipelago, located at the Arctic sea-ice edge between 74 and 81∘ N, is ∼60 % covered by glaciers. The region experiences rapid variations in atmospheric flow during the snow season (from late September to May) and can be affected by air advected from both lower and higher latitudes, which likely impact the chemical composition of snowfall. While long-term changes in Svalbard snow chemistry have been documented in ice cores drilled from two high-elevation glaciers, the spatial variability of the snowpack composition across Svalbard is comparatively poorly understood. Here, we report the results of the most comprehensive seasonal snow chemistry survey to date, carried out in April 2016 across 22 sites on seven glaciers across the archipelago. At each glacier, three snowpits were sampled along the altitudinal profiles and the collected samples were analysed for major ions (Ca2+, K+, Na+, Mg2+, NH+4, SO2−4, Br−, Cl−, and NO−3) and stable water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H). The main aims were to investigate the natural and anthropogenic processes influencing the snowpack and to better understand the influence of atmospheric aerosol transport and deposition patterns on the snow chemical composition. The snow deposited in the southern region of Svalbard is characterized by the highest total ionic loads, mainly attributed to sea-salt particles. Both NO−3 and NH+4 in the seasonal snowpack reflect secondary aerosol formation and post-depositional changes, resulting in very different spatial deposition patterns: NO−3 has its highest loading in north-western Spitsbergen and NH+4 in the south-west. The Br− enrichment in snow is highest in north-eastern glacier sites closest to areas of extensive sea-ice coverage. Spatial correlation patterns between Na+ and δ18O suggest that the influence of long-range transport of aerosols on snow chemistry is proportionally greater above 600–700 m a.s.l.
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Authors (14)
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Elena Barbaro
- Institute of Polar Sciences, ISP-CNR & Ca' Foscari University of Venice
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Mats P. Björkman
- University of Gothenburg
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Carmen P. Vega
- Uppsala University - now at: Dirección Meteorológica de Chile, Dirección General de Aeronáutica Civil
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Christian Zdanowicz
- Uppsala University
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Tonu Martma
- Tallinn University of Technology
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Jean-Charles Gallet
- Norwegian Polar Institute
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Daniel Kępski
- Instytut Geofizyki PAN
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Catherine Larose
- University of Lyon
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Florian Tolle
- Université de Franche-Comté
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Thomas Schuler
- University of Oslo & UNIS
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Aleksander Uszczyk mgr
- Uniwersytet Śląski
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Andrea Spolaor
- Institute of Polar Sciences, ISP-CNR & Ca' Foscari University of Venice
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Details
- Category:
- Articles
- Type:
- artykuły w czasopismach
- Published in:
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ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
no. 21,
pages 3163 - 3180,
ISSN: 1680-7316 - Language:
- English
- Publication year:
- 2021
- Bibliographic description:
- Barbaro E., Koziol K., Björkman M. P., Vega C. P., Zdanowicz C., Martma T., Gallet J., Kępski D., Larose C., Luks B., Tolle F., Schuler T., Uszczyk A., Spolaor A.: Measurement report: Spatial variations in ionic chemistry and water-stable isotopes in the snowpack on glaciers across Svalbard during the 2015–2016 snow accumulation season// ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS -Vol. 21,iss. 4 (2021), s.3163-3180
- DOI:
- Digital Object Identifier (open in new tab) 10.5194/acp-21-3163-2021
- Sources of funding:
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- This research has been supported by the Svalbard Science Forum/Research Council of Norway (grant nos. 246731/E10 and 257636/E10), the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland (grant no. 3841/E-41/S/2020), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 (grant no. 689443, iCUPE).
- Verified by:
- Gdańsk University of Technology
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