CryoGeoEcology: Snow and Snow Cover Field Course

Abstract

In this field course, physical properties and exchange processes (methane, carbon dioxide) of snow and soil as determinants in high-altitude ecosystems are experimentally investigated. The students interpret the measurements and write a short research proposal based on the observations.

Objective

- Introducing cryosphere ecosystems in interaction with the physical and chemical properties of snow. - Developing an appreciation for life under extreme conditions and its special adaptations. - Transforming results from small-scale studies to better understand global change phenomena - Understanding modern measurement for snow and soil-snow-microorganism interactions.

Content

The course consists of daily field- and laboratory work, with additional morning and evening lectures from specialists. The snow structure plays a crucial role in energy exchange and habitability. We will use field methods (near-infrared photography), laboratory methods (X-ray tomography), and discrete sampling of snow impurities. Soils can act as sources or sinks of potent greenhouse gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). However, microbial processes in soils and GHG exchange with the atmosphere are poorly understood for soils covered by a snowpack. In this field course, we will quantify the mass flux of CO2 and CH4 at the snow-atmosphere interface using flux chambers and compare the results with gas-profile measurements through the snowpack to the soil surface. We will use these data to determine the C and GHG balance for alpine soils under prevailing snowpack conditions. Microplastics are everywhere and one of the most widely distributed markers of the Anthropocene. Our snow sampling and filtering should reveal it. Microorganism live in the snow and are the reason for the reddening of the snow surface in spring, changing the albedo to a large degree, and by this, the snow melt.

Resources