Trace element content of Greenland snows along an east-west transect

Twenty surface snow samples collected along a 400km east-west axis in central Greenland have been analysed for Na, Mg, K, Ca, Fe, Al, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn and Ag using utmost contamination-free procedures. Factor analysis of the correlation matrix suggests a continental origin for all these elements. The measured concentrations are shown to change only slightly along the axis, but very large variations of the crustal enrichment factors are observed. Two possible interpretations of these variations are proposed: they could be linked either to the influence of local crustal sources associated with the large ice free coastal areas of Greenland, or to decreasing incorporation of large size crustal aerosols into precipitation with increasing distance from the coasts.