Solute in high arctic glacier snow cover and its impact on runoff chemistry

The chemical composition of snow and meltwater in the 13 km2 catchment of Scott Turnerbreen, Svalbard, was investigated during the spring and summer of 1993. This paper assesses the provenance of solute in the snowpack and its impact on runoff chemistry. Dry snow contains 420μeql-1 of solute, is slightly acidic (pH 5.4) and is dominated by Na+ and Cl-. Wet snow is more dilute (total concentration 340μeql-1), and less acidic (pH 5.9). This is consistent with the elution of ions from the snowpack by meltwater. Snowpack solute can be partitioned into the following fractions: sea-salt aerosol, acid aerosol and crustal. About 98% of snowpack solute is sea salt, yielding 22000 kg km-2a-1. The behaviour of snowpack-derived Cl- in runoff is distinctive, peaking at over 800 μeql-1 early in the melt season as runoff picks up, before declining quasi-exponentially. This represents the discharge of snowmelt concentrated by elution within the snowpack which subsequently becomes relatively dilute. A solute yield of 140 kg km-2 a-1 can be attributed to anthropogenically generated acid aerosols, representing long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants, a potential contributor to Arctic runoff acidification.

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Solute in high arctic glacier snow cover and its impact on runoff chemistry

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/s0260305500014737 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 26 ◽

pp. 156-160 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Richard Hodgkins ◽

Martyn Tranter

Keyword(s):

Chemical Composition ◽

Atmospheric Transport ◽

Total Concentration ◽

High Arctic ◽

Sea Salt ◽

Acidic Ph ◽

Sea Salt Aerosol ◽

Wet Snow ◽

Potential Contributor ◽

Arctic Glacier

The chemical composition of snow and meltwater in the 13 km2catchment of Scott Turnerbreen, Svalbard, was investigated during the spring and summer of 1993. This paper assesses the provenance of solute in the snowpack and its impact on runoff chemistry. Dry snow contains 420μeql-1of solute, is slightly acidic (pH 5.4) and is dominated by Na+and Cl-. Wet snow is more dilute (total concentration 340μeql-1), and less acidic (pH 5.9). This is consistent with the elution of ions from the snowpack by meltwater. Snowpack solute can be partitioned into the following fractions: sea-salt aerosol, acid aerosol and crustal. About 98% of snowpack solute is sea salt, yielding 22000 kg km-2a-1. The behaviour of snowpack-derived Cl-in runoff is distinctive, peaking at over 800 μeql-1early in the melt season as runoff picks up, before declining quasi-exponentially. This represents the discharge of snowmelt concentrated by elution within the snowpack which subsequently becomes relatively dilute. A solute yield of 140 kg km-2a-1can be attributed to anthropogenically generated acid aerosols, representing long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants, a potential contributor to Arctic runoff acidification.

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An Aitken mode aerosol formation event in the high Arctic: evidence for aggregate breakup

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-13650 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Michael Lawler ◽

Eric Saltzman ◽

Linn Karlsson ◽

Paul Zieger ◽

Matthew Salter ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atmospheric Transport ◽

Methanesulfonic Acid ◽

High Arctic ◽

Sea Salt ◽

Surface Energy Budget ◽

Cloud Formation ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

Sea Spray ◽

Aerosol Formation ◽

Aitken Mode

<p>The summertime high Arctic is an extremely low-aerosol region, where even small inputs of particles can have significant impacts on cloud formation and therefore on the surface energy budget. The relative importance of new particle formation from gas phase precursors and primary sea spray production in this region remains uncertain, as does the role of atmospheric transport. We made direct, time-resolved composition measurements of Aitken mode (~20-60 nm diameter) aerosol over the high Arctic pack ice in August-September 2018, including during an intense Aitken mode formation event on August 30-31. The event particles contained both primary sea spray materials (sodium, potassium, and polysaccharide-like organics) and secondary components (non-sea-salt sulfate, methanesulfonic acid, non-sea-salt iodine, and secondary organics), most of which could be quantified on the basis of analytical standards. The composition is consistent with primary sea spray that had been atmospherically processed, and the aerosol size distribution dynamics imply the action of a process by which larger atmospheric particles or aggregates broke up to form smaller particles. Hypotheses to explain the results will be discussed.</p>

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Mineral and Sea-Salt Aerosol Fluxes over the Last 340 kyr Reconstructed from the Total Concentration of Al and Na in the Dome Fuji Ice Core

Atmospheric and Climate Sciences ◽

10.4236/acs.2013.32020 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 03 (02) ◽

pp. 186-192 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Hironori Sato ◽

Toshitaka Suzuki ◽

Motohiro Hirabayashi ◽

Yoshinori Iizuka ◽

Hideaki Motoyama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Total Concentration ◽

Ice Core ◽

Sea Salt ◽

Sea Salt Aerosol

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Impact of the particle mixing state on the hygroscopicity of internally mixed sodium chloride-ammonium sulfate single droplets: A theoretical and experimental study

Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics ◽

10.1039/d1cp01574e ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yeny A. Tobon ◽

Danielle El Hajj ◽

Samantha Seng ◽

Ferdaous Bengrad ◽

Myriam Moreau ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Study ◽

Sodium Chloride ◽

Ammonium Sulfate ◽

Atmospheric Transport ◽

Sea Salt ◽

Main Constituent ◽

Sea Salt Aerosols ◽

Particle Mixing ◽

Secondary Aerosols ◽

Single Droplets

Sodium chloride (NaCl) is the main constituent of sea-salt aerosols. During atmospheric transport, sea-salt aerosols can interact with gases and other particles including secondary aerosols containing ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4). This...

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