Seasonal patterns of heavy metal deposition to the snow on Lambert Glacier basin, East Antarctica

• Published in: Atmospheric Environment
• Main Authors: Hur, Soon Do, Cunde, Xiao, Hong, Sungmin, Barbante, Carlo, Gabrielli, Paolo, Lee, Khanghyun, F. Boutron, Claude, Ming, Yan
• Other Authors: Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing (CAS), Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, University of Ca’ Foscari Venice, Italy, Environmental Sciences Department, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Unité de Formation et de Recherche de Physique, Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2007
• Subjects: Heavy metals; Snow; Antarctica; Lambert Glacier basin; Seasonal variation; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Austral; East Antarctica; Lambert Glacier; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00376320; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.07.012

International audience Al, V, Mn, Fe, Cu, As, Cd, Ba, Pb, Bi and U were determined in a continuous series of 46 snow samples from a 2.3-m snow pit, covering the time period from austral spring 1998 to summer 2002, at a site on the east side of the Lambert Glacier basin in East Antarctica. Concentrations are very low for all metals and differ by orders of magnitude from one metal to another, with the mean concentrations ranging from 0.028 pg g−1 for Bi to 165 pg g−1 for Al. It is estimated that anthropogenic contributions are dominant for Cu, Pb and probably As, in the snow in our study area while the natural contributions from rock and soil dust, sea-salt spray and volcanic emissions account for most of the measured concentrations of the other metals. Our snow profiles show pronounced seasonal variations for Mn, As, Ba, Pb and Bi throughout the year, but a very different situation is observed between different metals. These observations suggest that heavy metals determined in our samples are controlled by different transport and deposition mechanisms related to physical and chemical alterations in the properties and sources of aerosol.