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Investigating the Radiative impact of Impurities on snow and ice in Svalbard (IRIS)
Call year: 2026
Status: active
IADC_id: 830
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RIS - Project:
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Project description:
Glacier ice is a key component of the cryosphere and is strongly affected by climate change due to its early resurfacing during the melting season in both polar and non-polar regions. In particular, the Arctic is warming at a rate about four times higher than the global average. One factor accelerating snow and ice melt is the presence of light-absorbing particles (LAPs), such as mineral dust, black carbon, and cryospheric algae. By reducing surface albedo, LAPs enhance the snow-albedo feedback loop, thereby altering the timing and intensity of snowmelt. This affects water availability, ecosystems, and human communities. Multi- and hyperspectral remote sensing data are powerful tools to retrieve snow and ice properties such as ice grain or pore size, density, liquid water content (LWC), LAP concentration and their radiative forcing. These variables are essential to determine the surface state (dry or melting) and to inform regional and global climate modeling. The Svalbard region is a source and receptor of high-latitude dust. It combines active local dust sources with long-term atmospheric and snow observations, providing an exceptional natural laboratory for studying dust-snow interactions. Ny-Ålesund, in particular, is an ideal site due to its proximity to periglacial dust sources and the availability of long-term atmospheric and snow chemistry data from the Gruvebadet Laboratory and Zeppelin Observatory. While several studies have investigated LAPs in Svalbard snow and ice (e.g, RiS ID 12167, 11028, and 11158), most have focused on a single LAP type, neglecting their combined optical effects. A recent project (RiS ID 12100) combined hyperspectral and geochemical analyses with SNICAR-AD modeling to comprehensibly quantify the effect of LAPs, but reflectance–model comparisons were limited by the absence of significant surface dust. The IRIS project builds on these efforts by targeting sites and periods where the presence of LAP is significant. It combines multi- and hyperspectral satellite data (PRISMA, EnMAP, Sentinel-2) with field hyperspectral measurements to validate and extend LAP retrievals and quantify their radiative forcing. In addition, IRIS will develop specific optical libraries of collected dust samples to improve radiative transfer simulations using the BioSNICAR model. The project addresses the open questions raised in the 2022 State of Environmental Science in Svalbard (SESS, SVALDUST) report: "What is the impact of dust on the cryosphere in Svalbard, and how does dust influence glacier melt?". Specifically, the IRIS project will quantify the presence, concentration, and radiative forcing of LAPs over the Austre and Vestre Brøggerbreen and Vestre Lovénbreen glaciers, where LAPs have previously been detected. These sites will serve as representative test areas for future large-scale studies across the Svalbard archipelago. The field campaign will include snow and ice sampling, as well as hyperspectral imaging, using the Specim IQ camera (VNIR 400–1000 nm, 7 nm spectral resolution) along longitudinal transects. This camera will be available at the Ny-Ålesund station starting from spring 2026 thanks to the "Infrastructure on Snow COver Reflectance and sEasonality" (iSCORE) project (RiS ID 12243). Samples collected will be analyzed at the Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA) to derive the physical and chemical properties of impurities, including concentration, single-scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, and mass extinction cross-section. These efforts will improve the retrieval algorithms developed within the "Light-Absorbing ParticleS in the cryosphere and impact on water resourcEs " (LAPSE, PI: B. Di Mauro, CNR-ISP) project, funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MUR). Satellite data will be used to compare observations from the Specim IQ camera and to scale up retrievals from the field to the regional level. Finally, the new dataset will be compared with high-resolution airborne hyperspectral data acquired through the "GLacier Algae and cryoconite in Svalbard glaciers with hyperSpectral data" (GLASS) SIOS-Access project (RiS ID 12270, PI: B. Di Mauro). The IRIS project results will provide field-validated LAP measurements, enhance satellite retrievals and radiative transfer models, and improve the understanding of dust–snow interactions and their role in Arctic glacier melt.
National/International Cooperation:
The IRIS project will benefit from collaborations with the University of Milano Bicocca (UNIMIB), the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), the National Research Council (CNR-ISP), and the Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA). Mutual benefits include access for NPI and CNR-ISP to hyperspectral measurements and modeling tools provided by UNIMIB, and to sample analyses performed at LISA. In turn, UNIMIB will benefit from the field experience, logistical support, as well as from the infrastructure provided by CNR-ISP and NPI in Ny-Ålesund. These synergies will enhance the scientific value of ongoing research.
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