The record of anthropogenic pollution in snow and ice in Svalbard, Norway

From the examination of the spatial distribution of pollutants and of the r ecord from ice cores, it is demonstrated that Svalbard is strongly affected by anthropogenic pollution. This pollution has caused an increase of appro ximately 90% in the acidity of the snow deposited in the Archipelago since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. High concentrations of H+, freq uently greater than 10 mu eq l(-1) (i.e, with pHs lower than 5.0), associat ed with high concentrations of sulphates, indicate that Svalbard is experie ncing the phenomenon of acid deposition. The first part of this work review s the existing knowledge of atmospheric, snow, and ice pollution in Svalbar d. This is followed by an examination of the acidity time series, supported by excess-sulphate measurements, performed an an ice core from central-eas tern Spitsbergen that provide a historical record of acid deposition over a 54 year period. An ice core recovered from Austfonna, Nordaustlandet provi ded baseline values and also a record of acidity in precipitation before an d during the entire industrial period, thereby allowing the evolution of ac id deposition in the Archipelago to be traced. The records of these two Sva lbard cores also reflect the overall regional trends. (C) 2000 Elsevier Sci ence Ltd. All rights reserved.