Snow research in Svalbard: current status and knowledge gaps

• Main Authors: Gallet, J-C, Björkman, MP, Borstad, CP, Hodson, AJ, Jacobi, H-W, Larose, C, Luks, B, Spolaor, A, Schuler, TV, Urazgildeeva, A, Zdanowicz, C
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System 2019
• Subjects: snow; climate; cryosphere; glaciology; ecology; sea-ice; Arctic; Svalbard; glacier; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/4778366; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4778366

This is chapter 3 of the State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS) report 2018 (https://sios-svalbard.org/SESS_Issue1). Snow cover affects all environments in Svalbard: glaciers, ocean (sea-ice) and land. Due to its high reflectivity, snow also impacts the atmosphere and the Earth’s energy budget (less snow results in higher temperatures). Snow on the ground insulates the soil against cold air temperatures, and is considered one of the main factors influencing plants and microorganisms, as it determines water and nutrient availability and the length of the growing season. Snow is also very sensitive to climate and its changes; even a brief warm spell can turn a dry snowpack into an icy snowpack, or melt it away completely. A snow pack with icy layers has completely different properties than a homogeneous snow pack: it conducts more energy and can change the thermal profiles of glaciers or ground on which it rests. Reduced snow cover directly affects the health of a glacier, prolonging the melting season and increasing the annual melt rate. Over the millennia, Arctic life forms have become well adapted to cold and harsh conditions. An altered climate with changed snow cover properties will make it harder for some species to survive. Reindeer will need to dig through ice layers to find food, and ptarmigans will be unable to burrow into the snow for protection against the cold. Ice that forms on the ground below the snow (basal ice), also affects plant growth and survival rates.