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Selected trace elements in snowpack on Urumqi Glacier No. 1, eastern Tianshan, China: As yielded by leaching treatment representative of real-world environmental conditions

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Abstract

To investigate the seasonal variability and potential environmental significance of trace elements in mountain glaciers, the surface snow and snow pit samples were collected at Urumqi Glacier No. 1 (43°06′N, 86°49′E, 4 130 m a.s.l.), eastern Tianshan (天山), from September 2002 to September 2003, and analyzed for Li, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, and Ba. The samples were acidified (leached) in a manner intended to reasonably approximate the extent to which the natural hydrologic and weathering cycles would liberate elements from mineral grains (dusts) in the ice and snow into the environment. The mean concentrations of Li, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, and Ba are 0.2, 1.1, 0.8, 14.8, 0.1, 0.7, and 3.2 ng/g in surface snow but 1.0, 2.2, 1.8, 92.4, 0.8, 2.9, and 16.2 ng/g in snow pits, respectively. Input varies seasonally: in general, concentrations in the winter are higher than those in the summer. The trace elements are somewhat enriched (relative to expected abundances in material taken directly from the earth’s crust) and similar to what is observed in both pre-industrial and modern atmospheric dusts, although some anthropogenic components from nearby industrial cities may be present. Concentration vertical profiles can be redistributed in the post-depositional process, which may cause loss of trace elements in the summer.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Geography and Environment Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Mingjun Zhang  (张明军) & Shengjie Wang  (王圣杰)

  2. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences/Tianshan Glaciological Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Mingjun Zhang  (张明军), Feiteng Wang  (王飞腾) & Yuefang Li  (李月芳)

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  1. Mingjun Zhang  (张明军)
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  2. Shengjie Wang  (王圣杰)
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  3. Feiteng Wang  (王飞腾)
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  4. Yuefang Li  (李月芳)
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Correspondence to Shengjie Wang  (王圣杰).

Additional information

This study was supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. KZCX2-EW-311), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 1141001040 and J0930003/J0109), the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences Founding (No. SKLCS-ZZ-2010-04), and the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University from Ministry of Education of China (No. NCET-10-0019).

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Zhang, M., Wang, S., Wang, F. et al. Selected trace elements in snowpack on Urumqi Glacier No. 1, eastern Tianshan, China: As yielded by leaching treatment representative of real-world environmental conditions. J. Earth Sci. 22, 449–459 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-011-0199-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-011-0199-0

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