Intercomparison of snow Sampling and Analysis Within the Alpine-Wide Snowpack Investigation (SNOSP)

In order to investigate the seasonal and geographical distribution of snow concentrations anddeposition fluxes of environmentally relevant ionic species in the Alps, the international programSNOSP was initiated. In the framework of this program, intercomparisons of snow samplingtechniques and analytical methods to determine the ionic species C1^-, NO ₃ ^- ,SO ₄ ^2- , K⁺, Na⁺, NH4 ⁺, Mg²⁺, and Ca²⁺, as well as the pH and the specificconductivity were performed. The concentrations of these species in the snow samples collectedin the SNOSP program varied by orders of magnitude with, e.g., concentrations of NO ₃ ^- , SO ₄ ^2- , and NH4 ⁺ ranging from 0.2-60, 0.2-90, and 0.1-60 µeq L^-1,respectively. The intercomparisons revealed a reasonable agreement of the determinations of thespecies Cl^-, NO ₃ ^- , SO ₄ ^2- , Na⁺, and NH4 ⁺ in snow. Results were less satisfactory for K⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺,and H⁺, mainly due to the very low concentrations. In conclusion, recommendations areformulated for the reliable derivation of chemical inventories from snow packs.     

A130 years deposition record of sulfate,nitrate and chloride from a high-alpine glacier

An ice core from a high-alpine glacier (Grenzgletscher, Colle Gnifetti, Monte Rosa massif, 4450 m a.s.l., Switzerland) was used to reconstruct the pollution history of Central-Europe. Concentrations of the most important acidifying species sulfate and nitrate as well as of chloride were measured in 1151 samples with 5 cm resolution from the top 60 m of a 109 m long firn/ice core. This corresponds to a mean time resolution of 8 (bottom) to 14 (top) data points per year. A ²¹⁰Pb nuclear dating showed that the ice core covers a time period between 1850–1981 and that the mean accumulation rate was 0.33 m water equivalent per year. Between the two time periods 1850 – 1880 and 1965 – 1981 the mean sulfate concentrations increased by a factor of 5.8±0.9 and for nitrate by a factor of 2.3±0.3. The mean concentrations at the beginning of the industrial time (period 1850 –1880) was 0.078±0.008 mg/l for sulfate and 0.067±0.005 mg/l for nitrate. The mean chloride concentration was 0.047±0.004 mg/l and did not show a trend in concentration over the time period investigated. A distribution analysis of the measured concentrations for the two time periods 1850 – 1865 and 1965 – 1981 was performed which showed that the data have a nearly log-normal distribution.