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The surface of mountain glaciers is a place of accumulation of various biogenic organomineral and mineral compounds. As a result of intensive mass deglaciation of glaciers due to climate change and anthropogenic activity, this material can significantly affect the transformation of the landscape in the periglacial zone. Thus, this work considers the contamination of the surface of the Arctic, Antarctic, and Caucasian glaciers by priority pollutants. Atomic absorption spectroscopy was used to analyze trace elements (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cd, Pb) from cryoconite deposits. It was revealed that the cryoconite dust on the Ray-Iz glacier (Polar Urals) has a high level of nickel contamination, which comes to the glacier from local rock materials as a result of their weathering. The lowest concentrations of trace elements are found in one of the Arctic plots located at Mushketov and Aldegonda glaciers, the Caucasus, and the Antarctic, which is due to their relatively low content in the composition of rocks and the relatively low contribution of long-range transport of matter to the polar regions. Contamination of moraine sediments in the periglacial zone can make a significant contribution to the formation of the soil cover of these territories, the pollution of water bodies near the glacier, as well as affect the quality of life of the people living in the immediate vicinity of the mountain areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the extraordinary weather conditions of the austral summer of 2023, fossil mosses thawed out from under the Bellingshausen Ice Dome, King George Island, Southern Shetland Archipelago of maritime Antarctica. At the end of the austral summer, we directly measured greenhouse gas fluxes (CH 4 and CO 2) from the surface of fossil mosses. We showed that fossil mosses were strong emitters of CH 4 and weak emitters of CO 2. The real-time measured CH 4 emissions reached 0.173 μmol m−2 s−1, which is comparable to CH 4 efflux in water bodies or wet tundra in the Arctic. [Display omitted] • Fossil mosses appear from the retreated Antarctic glacier. • Glacier ice in the upper parts of the Bellingshausen Ice Dome emits CH 4 and CO 2. • Fossil mosses thawed out from the retreated Antarctic glacier are the source of CH 4 and CO 2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the positive degree days approach and ERA-Interim reanalysis downscaled data, the researchers ran a melt model spatially gridded at 200 m with annual temporal resolution over 32 years and estimated surface melt (SM) and surface runoff (SR) on the Antarctic Peninsula. The model was calibrated and validated independently by field measurements. The maximum surface melt values occurred in 1985 (129 Gt), and the maximum runoff (40 Gt) occurred in 1993; both parameters showed minimum values in 2014 (26 Gt and 0.37 Gt, respectively). No significant trends are present. Two widespread positive anomalies occurred in 1993 and 2006. The results reveal that the floating ice areas produce an average of 68% of runoff and 61% of surface melt, emphasizing their importance to coastal hydrography. During the seven years preceding the Larsen B collapse, surface melt retention was higher than 95% on floating ice areas, and negative runoff anomalies persisted. Excluding the islands, the vicinity of this former ice shelf exhibits the highest specific surface melt and runoff across the studied area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Investigations of Mass Balance on the Bellingshausen Ice Dome in 2007-2015, Kings George (Waterloo) Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica," by Bulat Mavlyudov is presented.

Glacier mass balance measurements, reconstructions and modeling are the precondition for assessing glacier sensitivity to regional climatic fluctuations. This paper presents new glaciological and geodetic mass balance data of Austre Grønfjordbreen located in the western part of Nordenskiöld Land in Central Spitsbergen. The average annual mass balance from 2014 to 2019 was −1.59 m w.e. The geodetic mass balance from 2008 to 2017 was −1.34 m w.e. The mass balance was also reconstructed by the temperature-index model from 2006 to 2020 and by spatially-distributed energy-balance models for 2011–2015 and 2019. We found a cumulative mass balance of −21.62 m w.e. over 2006–2020. The calculated mass-balance sensitivity to temperature was −1.04 m w.e. °C−1, which corresponds to the highest glacier mass balance sensitivity among Svalbard glaciers. Sensitivity to precipitation change was 0.10 m w.e. for a 10% increase in precipitation throughout the balance year. Comparing the results of the current study with other glacier mass balance assessments in Svalbard, we found that Austre Grønfjordbreen loses mass most rapidly due to its location, which is mostly influenced by the warm West Spitsbergen Current, small area and low elevation range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enormous deglaciation in the polar and mountainous regions of the Earth is associated not only with large-scale climatic changes but also with the global transfer of black carbon (BC) microparticles, which accumulate on the surface of glaciers and lead to changes in albedo and the rate of degradation of ice. BC is the product of an incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, volcanic eruptions, and wildfires. The accumulation of organogenic microparticles leads to the formation of cryoconites, which are dust made of a combination of small rock particles and the result of anthropogenic activities (fossil fuel combustion) that play a special role in deglaciation. Here, we describe the content of trace metals and nutrients in accumulation of the BC from glaciers of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Western Antarctica. The analysis of trace metals concentrations showed that most of the studied elements (Cr, Pb, Zn, Ni) have a volcanic origin; at the same time, Cd and Cu have been accumulated as a result of anthropogenic activity. The content of nutrients in BC are most similar with Technosols, which forms near the scientific station at King George Island. The particles of BC can be translocated into organisms, which could pose a significant risk for living organisms and humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]