Major metallic elements (Al, Ca, and Fe) and size distribution of mineral particles in recent snow in inland Northeast Greenland

Abstract

Rising temperatures and melting of snow and ice since 2000 CE may result in coastal soil regions in Greenland providing more mineral particles to the Greenland ice sheet than before. To examine seasonal variations of the concentrations and source regions of mineral particles in recent snow in inland Northeast Greenland, we analyzed the total (i.e., soluble and insoluble) concentrations of major metallic elements (Al, Ca, and Fe) and the size distributions of mineral particles in snow pit samples covering 2013-2017 at the East Greenland Ice Core Project site. The total concentrations of metallic elements showed clear seasonality with spring maxima, indicating that the mineral particle concentrations peaked in this season. Volcanic products from the 2014-2015 eruptions of Bárðarbunga, Iceland, had little effect on the metallic element concentrations. The increased Ca/Al ratio, Ca solubility, and fine particle fraction (≤5 μm) in winter–spring indicated that the relative contributions of mineral particles originating from distant arid regions increased in those seasons. In summer–autumn, the Ca/Al ratio and Ca solubility decreased, and the coarse particle fraction (>5 μm) increased, suggesting that the relative contributions from coastal soil regions in Greenland increased in those seasons.