Arctic Station Dirigibile Italia

BRiCk - Building knowledge on Brown Carbon in Svalbard snow and ice (BRiCk)

Call year: 2026 Status: active IADC_id: 845

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Brown carbon (BrC) is a poorly constrained driver of snow/ice darkening in the Arctic. Formed by incomplete combustion and atmospheric processing, BrC comprises light-absorbing organic compounds that may account for a substantial share of UV–visible absorption by snow impurities, yet its sources, molecular composition, and post-depositional evolution remain uncertain. Reducing these uncertainties is essential to quantify BrC?s contribution to albedo reduction and surface energy balance.
This project will develop, validate, and apply an integrated workflow to quantify BrC in Arctic snow and ice: UPLC–HRMS and UV–Vis on WSOC, alongside WIOC measurements with EUSAAR2 (OC/EC) and OT21. Fieldwork based in Ny-Ålesund will cover a coastal–inland transect (e.g., Gruvebadet area and nearby glaciers such as Midtre Lovénbreen, Kongsvegen, Vestre Brøggerbreen, and Holtedahlfonna). At each site we will collect (i) the integrated annual snowpack, (ii) the optically active surface layer (0–15 cm), and (iii) underlying ice (15–100 cm). Basic snow properties will be recorded in situ; samples will be processed in clean laboratories (filtration, SPE pre-concentration) to separate soluble and insoluble fractions under standardized protocols and QA/QC (field blanks, procedural blanks, replicates).
By linking molecular fingerprints, optical metrics, and operational proxies across matrices and sites, the project will provide process-based constraints on BrC in Arctic cryospheric environments and establish documented, transferable methods to support harmonized measurements and model integration.

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Project information

BRiCk - Building knowledge on Brown Carbon in Svalbard snow and ice (BRiCk)