Measurement report: Spatial variations in snowpack ionic chemistry and water stable isotopes across Svalbard

• Main Authors: Barbaro, Elena, Koziol, Krystyna, Björkman, Mats P., Vega, Carmen P., Zdanowicz, Christian, Martma, Tonu, Gallet, Jean-Charles, Kępski, Daniel, Larose, Catherine, Luks, Bartłomiej, Tolle, Florian, Schuler, Thomas Vikhamar, Uszczyk, Aleksander, Spolaor, Andrea
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Arctic; Svalbard; Svalbard Archipelago; glacier; Sea ice; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-2020-740; https://acp.copernicus.org/preprints/acp-2020-740/

The Svalbard archipelago, between 74° and 81° N, is ∼60 % covered by glaciers and located at the Arctic sea ice edge. The region experiences rapid variations in atmospheric flow during the snow season (from late September to May) and can be affected by air advected both from 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 7 glaciers across the archipelago. At each glacier, three snow pits were sampled along altitudinal profiles and the collected samples were analysed for major ions (Ca 2+ , K + , Na + , Mg 2+ , NH + 4 , SO 4 2− , Br − , Cl − and NO 3 − ) and stable water isotopes (δ 18 O, δ 2 H). 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 was characterized by the highest total ionic loads, mainly attributed to sea salt particles. Both NO 3 − and NH 4 + in the seasonal snowpack reflected secondary aerosol formation and post-depositional changes, resulting in very different spatial deposition patterns: NO 3 − had its highest loading in northwestern Spitsbergen, and NH 4 + in the southwest. The Br − enrichment in snow was highest in northeastern glacier sites closest to areas of extensive sea ice coverage. Spatial correlation patterns between Na + and δ 18 O suggest that the influence of long-range transport of aerosols on snow chemistry is proportionally greater above 600–700 m a.s.l.