The 200-year history of nss-SO42- concentration in snow and ice from Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard

Abstract: Environmental scientists use ice-core records to reconstruct past atmospheric conditions. Anthropogenic and natural sources of emissions can be traced when analyzing ions in the ice, which is included in the science of glaciochemistry. Sulfate is an excellent ion to use in these studies since it is traceable to these emissions. This study is therefore focused on the sulfate ion, how its concentration has fluctuated over the last 200-years and when a change of trend occurred. The ice-cores used in this study were extracted at Lomonosovfonna, Svalbard, and analyzed by Ion Chromatography (IC). The new data that has been brought forth in this study covers nss-SO42- concentrations in the years of 1998-2012 and is connected to previous extracted ice-core records. The results of nss-SO42- concentration in the ice-cores confirm the change of trend in the 1970s. The increasing trend in the result correlate with historical emissions and the decrease after the change of trend enhances less anthropogenic impact on the atmosphere.