A four-year record (1990–94) of snow chemistry at two Glacier fields in the Italian Alps (Careser, 3090 m; Colle Vincent, 4086 m)

This paper discusses the results of chemical analyses carried out on snow deposition sampled in early and late spring, respectively, at Careser Glacier and Colle Vincent, two sites of the ALPTRAC project at the Italian Alps, during the period 1990–1994. The chemical characteristics of intensive long-range transport events are identified and the “background” concentration values are statistically defined. Moreover, the values of the nitrate/sulphate concentration ratio have been found to be smaller in the “polluted” samples than in the “background” ones; the latter appeared to be always slightly acidic (roughly 2 μEq ℓ-1 of acidity compared to a total ionic concentration of about 10 μEq ℓ-1).