Major ions and trace metals in glacial meltwaters nearby Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Zhan Shen; Liping Ye; Jing Zhang; Hongmei Ma; Ruifeng Zhang

doi:10.1007/s13131-024-2385-9

Volume 43 Issue 10

Oct. 2024

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Article Navigation > Acta Oceanologica Sinica > 2024 > 43(10): 86-99

Zhan Shen, Liping Ye, Jing Zhang, Hongmei Ma, Ruifeng Zhang. Major ions and trace metals in glacial meltwaters nearby Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(10): 86-99. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2385-9

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Zhan Shen, Liping Ye, Jing Zhang, Hongmei Ma, Ruifeng Zhang. Major ions and trace metals in glacial meltwaters nearby Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2024, 43(10): 86-99. doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2385-9

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Major ions and trace metals in glacial meltwaters nearby Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

doi: 10.1007/s13131-024-2385-9

Zhan Shen^{1, T},
Liping Ye^{2, T},
Jing Zhang^{1, 2},
Hongmei Ma³,
Ruifeng Zhang^{1, 2, 3, 4
,
,}

1.
Key Laboratory of Polar Ecosystem and Climate Change of Ministry of Education and School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China
2.
State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
3.
Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Ministry of Natural Resources, Shanghai 200136, China
4.
Shanghai Key Laboratory of Polar Life and Environment Sciences, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200030, China

Funds: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 42076227, 41676175 and 41276202; the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration under contract No. CHINARE-YRS2015–21; the Shanghai Pilot Program for Basic Research－Shanghai Jiao Tong University under contract No. 21TQ1400201; the Shanghai Frontiers Science Center of Polar Science (SCOPS).

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Corresponding author: E-mail: ruifengzhang@sjtu.edu.cn
Received Date: 2024-03-19
Accepted Date: 2024-05-31

Available Online: 2024-12-17

Publish Date: 2024-10-25

Abstract

Abstract

Ny-Ålesund, located in Arctic Svalbard, is one of the most sensitive areas on Earth to global warming. In recent years, accelerated glacier ablation has become remarkable in Ny-Ålesund. Glacial meltwaters discharge a substantial quantity of materials to the ocean, affecting downstream ecosystems and adjacent oceans. In August 2015, various water samples were taken near Ny-Ålesund, including ice marginal meltwater, proglacial meltwater, supraglacial meltwater, englacial meltwater, and groundwater. Trace metals (Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb), major ions, alkalinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, water temperature and electric conductivity were also measured. Major ions were mainly controlled by chemical weathering intensity and reaction types, while trace metals were influenced by both chemical weathering and physicochemical control upon their mobility. Indeed, we found that Brøggerbreen was dominated by carbonate weathering via carbonation of carbonate, while Austre Lovénbreen and Pedersenbreen were dominated by sulfide oxidation coupled with carbonate dissolution with a doubled silicate weathering. The higher enrichment of trace metals in supraglacial meltwater compared to ice marginal and proglacial meltwater suggested anthropogenic pollution from atmospheric deposition. In ice marginal and proglacial meltwater, principal component analysis indicated that trace metals like Cr, Al, Co, Mn and Cd were correlated to chemical weathering. This implies that under accelerated glacier retreat, glacier-derived chemical components are subjected to future changes in weathering types and intensity.
- Arctic,
- glacial meltwater,
- weathering,
- major ions,
- trace metals

These authors contributed equally to this work.

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References(75)

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