Distribution of sea salt components in snow cover along the traverse route from the coast to Dome Fuji station 1000 km inland at east Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Abstract

We show and discuss the results of the regional distribution of Cl₋ and Na⁺ concentrations in snow cover along the study route from the coast to Dome Fuji station, 1000 km inland, in east Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. The concentrations of Cl⁻ and Na⁺ at the coast exponentially decreased with distance from the coast up to 200 km inland. Between 200–1000 km inland, the concentrations of Na⁺ were nearly constant. On the other hand, the concentrations of Cl⁻ increased with distance beyond 750 km inland. Furthermore, the contribution factors between Cl⁻ and Na⁺ decreased and the Cl⁻/Na⁺ ratio and the nssCl⁻/Cl⁻ ratio increased toward the interior of the continent. These results indicate that sea salt aerosols are transported from the coastal region toward the inland region of the Antarctic continent, and that a source of Cl⁻ other than sea salt exists in the inland plateau of Antarctica.