Brief Communication: Ikaite (CaCO 3 ·6H 2 O) discovered in Arctic sea ice

We report for the first time on the discovery of calcium carbonate crystals as ikaite (CaCO 3 ·6H 2 O) in sea ice from the Arctic (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard) as confirmed by morphology and indirectly by X-ray diffraction as well as XANES spectroscopy of its amorophous decomposition product. This findin...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Cryosphere
Main Authors: M. A. Granskog, S. Gerland, C. Uhlig, J. Göttlicher, G. Nehrke, G. S. Dieckmann, D. N. Thomas
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2010
Subjects:
Environmental sciences
GE1-350
Geology
QE1-996.5
Arctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic
Svalbard
Antarc*
Kongsfjord*
Kongsfjorden
Sea ice
The Cryosphere
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-4-227-2010
https://doaj.org/article/d064237fdeff4171828a009dd3b513a0
Description
Summary:We report for the first time on the discovery of calcium carbonate crystals as ikaite (CaCO 3 ·6H 2 O) in sea ice from the Arctic (Kongsfjorden, Svalbard) as confirmed by morphology and indirectly by X-ray diffraction as well as XANES spectroscopy of its amorophous decomposition product. This finding demonstrates that the precipitation of calcium carbonate during the freezing of sea ice is not restricted to the Antarctic, where it was observed for the first time in 2008. This observation is an important step in the quest to quantify its impact on the sea ice driven carbon cycle.

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