Elemental and Mineralogical Composition of the Western Andean Snow (18°S-41°S)
Alfonso, Juan A.
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Cordero, Raul R.
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Rowe, Penny M.
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Neshyba, Steven
Univ Puget Sound
MacDonell, Shelley
CEAZA
Lambert, Fabrice
Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
Pizarro, Jaime
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Fernandoy, Francisco
Universidad Andres Bello
Feron, Sarah
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Damiani, Alessandro
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Llanillo, Pedro
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Sepulveda, Edgardo
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Jorquera, Jose
Universidad de Santiago de Chile
Garcia, Belkis
Venezuelan Institute Science Research
Carrera, Juan M.
Venezuelan Institute Science Research
Oyola, Pedro
Ctr Mario Molina
Kang, Choong-Min
Harvard University
Journal
Scientific Reports
ISSN
2045-2322
Open Access
gold
Volume
9
The snowpack is an important source of water for many Andean communities. Because of its importance, elemental and mineralogical composition analysis of the Andean snow is a worthwhile effort. In this study, we conducted a chemical composition analysis (major and trace elements, mineralogy, and chemical enrichment) of surface snow sampled at 21 sites across a transect of about 2,500 km in the Chilean Andes (18-41 degrees S). Our results enabled us to identify five depositional environments: (i) sites 1-3 (in the Atacama Desert, 18-26 degrees S) with relatively high concentrations of metals, high abundance of quartz and low presence of arsenates, (ii) sites 4-8 (in northern Chile, 29-32 degrees S) with relatively high abundance of quartz and low presence of metals and arsenates, (iii) sites 9-12 (in central Chile, 33-35 degrees S) with anthropogenic enrichment of metals, relatively high values of quartz and low abundance of arsenates, (iv) sites 13-14 (also in central Chile, 35-37 degrees S) with relatively high values of quartz and low presence of metals and arsenates, and v) sites 15-21 (in southern Chile, 37-41 degrees S) with relatively high abundance of arsenates and low presence of metals and quartz. We found significant anthropogenic enrichment at sites close to Santiago (a major city of 6 million inhabitants) and in the Atacama Desert (that hosts several major copper mines).
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