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Dust-mediated loading of trace and major elements to Wasatch Mountain snowpack
Gregory T Carling1, Diego P Fernandez, William P Johnson
1University of Utah, Dept. of Geology & Geophysics, Salt Lake City, UT 84112‐0102, USA.
The Science of the Total Environment
|June 22, 2012
Summary
Dust deposition significantly increased trace element concentrations in Utah
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Geochemistry
- Atmospheric Science
Background:
- Snowpack acts as a crucial archive for atmospheric deposition.
- Understanding element loading in snow is vital for assessing environmental impacts.
- Previous studies highlight dust's role in soil and sediment enrichment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify trace element and major ion concentrations in Wasatch Mountains snowpack.
- To compare snow chemistry before and after spring dust events.
- To determine the primary deposition pathways for elements in snow.
Main Methods:
- Collected snow samples across 12 sites in the Wasatch Mountains, Utah (March-April 2010).
- Analyzed filtered and unfiltered snow subsamples for trace elements, major anions, and cations.
- Compared concentrations in snow collected before (March) and after (April) dust events.
Main Results:
- Significant increases (2-5x) in trace element concentrations (e.g., As, Cr, Hg, Pb) observed in April snow.
- Elevated acid neutralizing capacity and pH in April snowpack compared to March.
- Trace element increases primarily linked to particulate matter (>0.45 μm) from dust deposition.
Conclusions:
- Dust deposition is the main source of trace element loading in the Wasatch snowpack.
- Major elements are primarily associated with soluble dust particles (<0.45 μm).
- This study is the first to compare seasonal snowpack chemistry before and after dust events.
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