Articles | Volume 20, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5533-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-5533-2026
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

Related authors

The first firn core from Peter I Island – capturing climate variability across the Bellingshausen Sea
Elizabeth R. Thomas, Dieter Tetzner, Bradley Markle, Joel Pedro, Guisella Gacitúa, Dorothea Elisabeth Moser, and Sarah Jackson
Clim. Past, 20, 2525–2538, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2525-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-20-2525-2024, 2024
Short summary
Review article: Melt-affected ice cores for polar research in a warming world
Dorothea Elisabeth Moser, Elizabeth R. Thomas, Christoph Nehrbass-Ahles, Anja Eichler, and Eric Wolff
The Cryosphere, 18, 2691–2718, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2691-2024,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2691-2024, 2024
Short summary

Cited articles

Avanzi, F., Hirashima, H., Yamaguchi, S., Katsushima, T., and De Michele, C.: Observations of capillary barriers and preferential flow in layered snow during cold laboratory experiments, The Cryosphere, 10, 2013–2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2013-2016, 2016. 
Beria, H., Larsen, J. R., Ceperley, N. C., Michelon, A., Vennemann, T., and Schaefli, B.: Understanding snow hydrological processes through the lens of stable water isotopes, Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Water, 5, 1–23, https://doi.org/10.1002/wat2.1311, 2018. 
Bøggild, C. E.: Preferential Flow and Melt Water Retention in Cold Snow Packs in West-Greenland, Nord. Hydrol., 31, 287–300, https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2000.0017, 2000. 
Brown, R., Vikhamar Schuler, D., Bulygina, O., Derksen, C., Luojus, K., Mudryk, L., Wang, L., and Yang, D.: Arctic terrestrial snow cover, in: Snow, Water, Ice and Permafrost in the Arctic (SWIPA) 2017, Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP), Oslo, Norway, 26–55, ISBN 978-82-7971-101-8, 2017. 
Christianson, K., Kohler, J., Alley, R. B., Nuth, C., and Van Pelt, W. J. J.: Dynamic perennial firn aquifer on an Arctic glacier, Geophys. Res. Lett., 42, 1418–1426, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL062806, 2015. 
Download
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.
Share