Snow Chemistry at Mukteshwar in Central Himalayan Region of India

Abstract

The present study reports snow chemistry and source apportionment at Mukteshwar in central Himalayan region of India during winter 2012-13. In this study, fresh snowfall samples were collected at Mukteshwar during winter season of 2012-13. The results showed that the pH of the snowmelt samples ranged from 5.47 to 7.95 with an average of 6.37 indicating alkaline nature of precipitation which is similar to the range reported. The concentration of ions followed the following order-Ca 2+ > Cl-> Na + > SO 4 2-> HCO 3-> NH 4 + > NO 3-> Mg 2+ > K + > F-. Very high concentration of Ca 2+ indicated the dominance of crustal sources. Source fraction calculations revealed that crustal, marine and anthropogenic sources contributed 40%, 38% and 22% ionic components in snowmelt, respectively. Since, Mukteshwar is remote site as compared to Delhi, values of NO 3 were compared with the NO 3 reported in the precipitation (rain water) of Delhi as NO 3 is an indicator of vehicular pollution in urban areas. Such comparison of NO 3 values suggested that though Mukteshwar precipitation had 1/3 of NO 3 in precipitation as compared to Delhi, but considering it as a small town, precipitation at Mukteshwar is significantly influenced vehicular sources possibly due to Long Range Transport (LRT) of pollution.

Chemical composition and isotopic signatures of ice and snow over a Himalayan Glacier (Satopanth) in India

“…Calcium in these areas is mainly of crustal origin and Ca 2+ could be found in lime /calcium carbonate, dolomite, etc. of subsiding soil [14,41]. The mass of sulfates and calcium in ice was almost 10-45 folds higher than that over snow.…”

“…This indicates the moderate acidic nature of both snow and ice over the region. However, mild alkalinity was reported over another central Himalayan region [20,23]. A pH of 6.1…”

“…It suggests that the long time mixing of debris with ice is a more prominent source of the minerals in ice compared to deposits of relatively new snow. Another central Himalayan chemical composition study showed the concentration order as follows Ca 2+ > Cl − > Na + > S O 4 2− > HC O3 − > NH 4 + > N O 3 − > Mg 2 + > K + > F − in the fresh snow [20,23] . C hem ical composition data over Chhota Shigri glaci er of central H ima lay as is well documented [34].…”

“…It is suggested that debris-covered glaciers can withstand glacier retreat by 45-50% more as compared to the bare glaciers [3]. Since the last century, a number of attempts have been made by several investigators to study the various glaciological aspects of the Himalayan Glaciers (e.g., [6,12,17,20,23,[27][28][29], etc). However studies on ionic composition of snow/ice observations are limited, as most of the studies are oriented in the geological perspective over central Himalaya.…”