Chemical compositions of snow from Mt. Yulong, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Journal of Earth system science

Yuanqing He1 2³  Hewen Niu1 2³  Xiaoyi Shi2²  Shijin Wang1³  Shichang Kang1 3³  Xixi Lu4¹ 

[1] Department of Geography, National University of Singapore, 1 Arts Link, Singapore 117570, Singapore$$;Key Laboratory of Western China Environmental Systems (Ministry of Education), College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China$$;State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Cold and Arid Regions Environment and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China$$

关键词: Atmospheric circulations;    major ions;    seasonal variations;    physical stratigraphy.;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：天文学(综合)

来源: Indian Academy of Sciences

【 摘 要 】

The snow and ice in Mt. Yulong offer a unique opportunity to investigate changes in climate and large scale atmospheric circulations over Asia. During February and April 2012, surface snow samples were collected from the Baishui Glacier No. 1 at different altitudes along the eastern slope of Mt. Yulong.Two snowpits were also excavated from Mt. Yulong at altitudes of 4780 and 4730 m a.s.l. in February 2012. The concentrations of inorganic ions were higher at an elevation of 4506 m a.s.l. in the glacier with significant contribution of anthropogenic (mainly NH$^{+}_{4}$ , SO$^{2−}_4$ , NO$^{−}_3$) and crustal (mainly Ca$^{2+}$)constituents. Concentration of HCOO$^{−}$ in surface snow exhibited large variability, ranging from 0.04 to 6.8 𝜇eq L$^{−1}$, attributed to dominant contribution from biomass burning emissions. Ion balance (𝛥C) and Na$^{+}$/Cl$^{−}$ calculations indicated an excess of cations (particularly higher Ca$^{2+}$ concentrations) and Cl$^{−}$ in snow, considering the sea-salt ratio, respectively. Monsoon season (June–September) ion concentrations in snowpit samples were generally two-fold lower than in other seasons. Principal component analysis was used to identify different sources of ions. Three main factors, accounting for more than 80% of the total variance, were related to different sources, including agricultural activities, biomass burning, and crustal aerosols.

【 授权许可】

Unknown