Elemental composition and bacterial incidence in firn-cores at Midre Lovénbreen glacier, Svalbard

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Authors: Singh, Shiv Mohan, Gawas-Sakhalkar, Puja, Naik, Simantini, Ravindra, Rasik, Sharma, Jagdev, Upadhyay, Ajay Kumar, Mulik, Ravindra Uttam, Bohare, Priyanka
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2013
• Subjects: Svalbard; glacier; Polar Record
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/s0032247413000533; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247413000533

ABSTRACT The present study was conducted to measure the elemental concentration and bacterial deposition in the firn-cores at the Midre Lovénbreen glacier, Svalbard. Firn-cores up to 1m deep were collected and divided into three subsections. These were subjected to elemental analysis using inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS). In all 20 elements were analysed. The crustal enrichment factors calculated for these elements on the basis of Fe values, demonstrate that the elements have derived from both crustal and anthropogenic sources. For certain elements there also exists a possibility of input from sea salt spray. Total bacterial counts in these firn samples ranged from 1.03 × 10 5 to 3.67 × 10 5 per ml of meltwater. Culturability of these bacterial cells, in comparison to the total count was very low. At 4°C the maximum culturability was <1.4% of the total count while at 15°C it was still lower (~1%).