Measurement report: Spatial variations in ionic chemistry and water-stable isotopes in the snowpack on glaciers across Svalbard during the 2015–2016 snow accumulation season

• Published in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Main Authors: Barbaro, Elena, Koziol, Krystyna, Björkman, Mats, Vega, Carmen, Zdanowicz, Christian, Martma, Tonu, Gallet, Jean-Charles, Kępski, Daniel, Larose, Catherine, Luks, Bartłomiej, Tolle, Florian, Schuler, Thomas, Uszczyk, Aleksander, Spolaor, Andrea
• Other Authors: Institute of Polar Sciences Venezia-Mestre (CNR-ISP), National Research Council of Italy, Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics Venezia, University of Ca’ Foscari Venice, Italy, Gdańsk University of Technology (GUT), Göteborgs Universitet = University of Gothenburg (GU), Uppsala University, Tallinn University of Technology (TTÜ), Norwegian Polar Institute, Institute of Geophysics Warsaw, Polska Akademia Nauk = Polish Academy of Sciences = Académie polonaise des sciences (PAN), Ampère, Département Bioingénierie (BioIng), Ampère (AMPERE), École Centrale de Lyon (ECL), Université de Lyon-Université de Lyon-Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 (UCBL), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées de Lyon (INSA Lyon), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-École Centrale de Lyon (ECL), Université de Lyon-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Institut National des Sciences Appliquées (INSA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté COMUE (UBFC), University of Oslo (UiO), Arctic Geophysics Research, The University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS), University of Silesia in Katowice, This research has been supported by the Svalbard Science Forum/Research Council of Norway (grant nos. 246731/E10 and 257636/E10), the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Poland (grant no. 3841/E-41/S/2020), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 (grant no. 689443, iCUPE)., European Project: iCUPE
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic; Svalbard; Svalbard Archipelago; Eastern Glacier; glacier; Sea ice; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03860606; https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3163-2021

International audience The Svalbard archipelago, located at the Arctic sea-ice edge between 74 and 81∘ N, is ∼60 % covered by glaciers. The region experiences rapid variations in atmospheric flow during the snow season (from late September to May) and can be affected by air advected from both 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 seven glaciers across the archipelago. At each glacier, three snowpits were sampled along the altitudinal profiles and the collected samples were analysed for major ions (Ca2+, K+, Na+, Mg2+, NH4+, SO42-, Br−, Cl−, and NO3-) and stable water isotopes (δ18O, δ2H). 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 is characterized by the highest total ionic loads, mainly attributed to sea-salt particles. Both NO3- and NH4+ in the seasonal snowpack reflect secondary aerosol formation and post-depositional changes, resulting in very different spatial deposition patterns: NO3- has its highest loading in north-western Spitsbergen and NH4+ in the south-west. The Br− enrichment in snow is highest in north-eastern glacier sites closest to areas of extensive sea-ice coverage. Spatial correlation patterns between Na+ and δ18O suggest that the influence of long-range transport of aerosols on snow chemistry is proportionally greater above 600–700 m a.s.l.