Methodological aspects of snow cover sampling for chemical analysis

Abstract

Abstract At present there is a steady increase in scientific publications on studying the chemical composition of snow cover. At the same time, there are practically no modern publications on the methods of snow cover sampling for chemical analysis. The rapid development of analytical ways to determine the composition of samples in general justifies the need to improve the methodology of snow cover sampling. Today, researchers use a variety of adapted sampling methods depending on the goal, the geographic location of the study area, and the analyzed component. Each publication contains a rationale for the sampling method used. This article describes the methodology of sampling snow cover to determine its density. Methods of taking snow cover samples to determine its chemical composition most often depend on the chosen practices. The primary systematization of snow cover sampling methods has been carried out. Synthesis of literature reveals some problems, including the need for improved standardized techniques of snow sampling for chemical analysis and for the development of applied instrumentation to address snow geochemistry.