Glaciochemistry of surface snow from the Ingrid Christensen Coast, East Antarctica, and its environmental implications

Abstract Spatial variations in the ion composition were studied in 55 surface snow samples collected along three transects in the Ingrid Christensen Coast of East Antarctica. The sea-salt ion constituents revealed a drastic reduction from the ice edge to inland sites. The computed sea-salt sodium an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Antarctic Science
Main Authors: Thamban, M., Laluraj, C.M., Mahalinganathan, K., Redkar, B.L., Naik, S.S., Shrivastava, P.K.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2010
Subjects:
Geology
Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Oceanography
East Antarctica
Christensen
Ingrid Christensen Coast
Antarc*
Antarctic Science
Antarctica
Sea ice
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0954102010000155
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0954102010000155
Description
Summary:Abstract Spatial variations in the ion composition were studied in 55 surface snow samples collected along three transects in the Ingrid Christensen Coast of East Antarctica. The sea-salt ion constituents revealed a drastic reduction from the ice edge to inland sites. The computed sea-salt sodium and non-sea-salt calcium concentrations suggest that while sea spray primarily contributes to the Na + , the crustal contribution dominates the Ca 2+ in snow samples. The Cl - /ssNa + ratios of the snow samples from the Larsemann transect varied between 4.7 and 1.05, indicating that additional Cl - sources like soil dust are important in the inland sites. The enrichment factors (Ef) confirm a dominant crustal source for Ca 2+ in all transects. The Ef(K + ) values indicate a dominant sea spray source for K + in the coastal stations of the Larsemann and Publications transects. The Ef(Mg 2+ ) values indicate the absence of any significant Mg 2+ enrichment compared to seawater values. Secondary sulphur species (nssSO 4 2- and MSA) within the snow samples suggest that both vary independently of each other, possibly influenced by the local biological activities. The nssSO 4 2- data revealed that several summer snow deposits in the study region are significantly fractionated, apparently related to the sea ice existence during summer.

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