Investigation on the Sources and Impact of Trace Elements in the Annual Snowpack and the Firn in the Hansbreen (Southwest Spitsbergen)

• Published in: Frontiers in Earth Science
• Main Authors: Andrea Spolaor, Beatrice Moroni, Bartłomiej Luks, Adam Nawrot, Marco Roman, Catherine Larose, Łukasz Stachnik, Federica Bruschi, Krystyna Kozioł, Filip Pawlak, Clara Turetta, Elena Barbaro, Jean-Charles Gallet, David Cappelletti
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
• Subjects: svalbard; snowpack; firn; trace element; transport; Science; Q; Arctic; Dy; Hansbreen; Hornsund; Svalbard; Svalbard Archipelago; glacier; Tidewater; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.536036; https://doaj.org/article/1b9937731cbc498ab54d3cd08b199be9

We present a thorough evaluation of the water soluble fraction of the trace element composition (Ca, Sr, Mg, Na, K, Li, B, Rb, U, Ni, Co, As, Cs, Cd, Mo, Se, Eu, Ba, V, Ge, Ga, Cr, Cr, P, Ti, Mn, Zr, Ce, Zn, Fe, Gd, Y, Pb, Bi, Yb, Al, Nb, Er, Nd, Dy, Sm, Ho, Th, La, Lu, Tm, Pr, Tb, Fe, In, Tl) and their fluxes in the annual snowpack and the firn of the Hansbreen (a tidewater glacier terminating in the Hornsund fjord, southwest Spitsbergen). The trace element samples were obtained from a 3 m deep snow pit dug at the plateau of the glacier (450 m a.s.l.), and from a 2 m deep firn core collected from the bottom of the snow pit. The comparison of elemental fluxes and enrichment factors allowed us to constrain specific summer and wintertime deposition patterns of water soluble trace elements in the southern part of the Svalbard archipelago. Our results suggest that the chemical composition of the Hansbreen (and likely other glaciers where the summit is close to the equilibrium line) is mainly affected by summertime deposition of trace elements from local sources and some volatile elements, which may be transported into the Arctic when polar vortex is weak. The melting of the annual snowpack seems to have a minor influence on the overall chemical signature of the glacier ice.