Investigations of the snow cover at the end of the winter 1990/1991 were carried
out in several areas in West Spitsbergen, namely, Lomonosovfonna, Kongsvegen, Fridtjovbreen,
Amundsenisen and that north of the Hornsund Fjord. The physical properties and chemical
nature of precipitation and the snow cover were determined. The studies revealed high variation
in the precipitation and the thickness of the snow cover: 317 mm w.e. (water equivalent) in
the Hornsund area, 659 mm w.e. at Lomonosovfonna, 1076 mm w.e. at Fridtjovbreen and 1716
mm w.e. at Amundsenisen. The salt loads deposited in the snow cover in different parts of West
Spitsbergen were also calculated (2.8 t/km2 at Lomonosovfonna, 15.8 t/km2 at Kongsvegen and
43.2 t/km2 at Amundsenisen). An intensive process of demineralisation during the conversion of
snow to firn was revealed, reaching as much as 90% during the first summer. An attempt to determine
the anthropogenic element content using the pH values for the precipitation and snow
cover was also made. A distinct correlation between the physico-chemical characteristic of snow
layer and falling snow was found. On the basis of the quality of the precipitation and snow cover,
West Spitsbergen has been classified into following provinces: (1) northern situated within Arctic
High (Lomonosovfonna and Kongsvegen), (2) southern undergoing mainly moving air
masses from the Arctic High and Greenland Low (Amundsenisen and Hornsund region)
