In-situ tracer percolation experiments to quantify the influence of near-surface melting on Svalbard snow signatures

Baur, Dorothea Elisabeth; Spolaor, Andrea; Scoto, Federico; Thomas, Elizabeth R.

doi:10.5194/tc-20-5533-2026

Articles | Volume 20, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5533-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5533-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 20, issue 9

Research article

|

29 Sep 2026

Research article |

| 29 Sep 2026

In-situ tracer percolation experiments to quantify the influence of near-surface melting on Svalbard snow signatures

Dorothea Elisabeth Baur, Andrea Spolaor, Federico Scoto, and Elizabeth R. Thomas

Data sets

In-situ tracer percolation experiments: conditions, results, and alteration of stable water isotope signatures in the seasonal snow near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, in March 2023 D. E. Moser et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/9cd08043-4498-4688-91d8-bb8a867d9024

Snow temperature, stratigraphy, density, and stable water isotope profiles from the seasonal snowpack near Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, in March 2023 D. E. Moser et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/84bab093-750e-48f5-ae41-1e5824abdecf

Kartdata Svalbard 1:100 000 (S100 Kartdata)/Map Data Norwegian Polar Institute https://doi.org/10.21334/NPOLAR.2014.645336C7

Terrengmodell Svalbard (S0 Terrengmodell) Norwegian Polar Institute https://doi.org/10.21334/NPOLAR.2014.DCE53A47

Video supplement

Time-lapse video of tracer percolation experiment in Svalbard seasonal snowpack, Ny-Alesund March 2023 D. E. Moser et al. https://doi.org/10.5285/62b9e5c5-190a-4137-ad95-3565e99395fe

Short summary

The Arctic is warming rapidly, and winter rain-on-snow events are becoming more common. These events can alter snow layers and disturb climate information stored in glaciers. We studied how small rain-on-snow events affect snow structure and water isotopes near Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Field experiments show that meltwater flow creates complex features, but isotope changes remain confined to them, meaning seasonal climate signals can still be preserved where enough snow accumulates.