TRACE-ELEMENT CONTENT OF GREENLAND SNOWS ALONG AN EAST-WEST TRANSECT

Twenty surface snow samples collected along a 400 km east-west axis in central Greenland were analyzed for Na, Mg, K, Ca, Fe, Al, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ag using contamination-free procedures. Factor analysis of the correlation matrix suggests a continental origin for all these elements. The measured concentrations changed only slightly along the axis, but very large variations of the crustal enrichment factors were observed. Two possible interpretations of these variations are proposed; they could be linked either to the influence of local crustal sources associated with the large ice free coastal areas of Greenland or to decreasing incorporation of large size crustal aerosols into precipitation with increasing distance from the coasts.