Conditions controlling atmospheric pollutant deposition via snowpack

Solid precipitation represents a potentially important addition to other measures of deposition. However, an accurate estimate of snowfall amount and pollutant loading is not a trivial matter. There are obvious distinctions between regular precipitation collection and snowpack sampling that represen...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Environmental reviews Vol. 18; no. NA; pp. 87 - 114
Main Authors:	Bias, Marek, Cichata-Kamrowska, Katarzyna, Sobik, Mieczystaw, Polkowska, Zaneta, Namiesnik, Jacek
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	NRC Research Press 01-12-2010
Subjects:	Acid deposition Air pollution Atmospherics Chemical properties Chemical water pollution chimie de la neige Clouds couverture de neige Crystals délavage déposition de polluants Environmental aspects ionic pulse pollutant deposition Precipitation pulsation ionique Snow snow chemistry snow cover Snowpack Soil pollution Soil water wash-out Water pollution Poland
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Solid precipitation represents a potentially important addition to other measures of deposition. However, an accurate estimate of snowfall amount and pollutant loading is not a trivial matter. There are obvious distinctions between regular precipitation collection and snowpack sampling that represent the cumulative chemistry of bulk deposition. The main goal is to show the most important processes and factors that may influence the rate and magnitude of pollutants deposition affected by the snowfall and snow cover: atmospheric pollutant enhancement of snowfall, pollutants deposition at snow cover surface, drifting and blowing snow, formation of the snow cover and its internal changes, as well as pollutants flow through the snowpack. These phenomena lead to continuous changes in the chemistry of the snow cover and the deposition calculated on the basis of pollutants concentrations in daily portions of atmospheric precipitation. The real deposition released from snowpack is strictly related to the number and depth of thaw episodes. If the amount of stored pollutants is large, first portions of ablation water flushing from the snowpack can carry the load of pollutants, and potentially affecting the environment in a detrimental way. Igneous bedrock is especially sensitive to acidic ions because of its low buffering capacity.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1181-8700 1208-6053 1208-6053
DOI:	10.1139/A10-003