Snow and ice environments support significant biological activity, yet the biological importance of some of these habitats, such as glaciers, has only recently gained appreciation. Collectively, these ecosystems form a significant part of the cryosphere, most of which is situated at high latitudes. These ice environments are important sentinels of climate change since the polar regions are presently undergoing the highest rates of climate warming, resulting in very marked changes in the extent of ice caps, glaciers, and the sea ice. Glacial systems are also regarded as an analogue for...

Seasonal Snowpacks examines the processes which control the chemistry of seasonal snowcover and provides detailed information on the biogeographical distribution of snow (e.g. urban, alpine snowpacks), snow composition (e.g. micropollutants, stable isotopes) or the physical and biological processes which influence the chemical changes in snow (e.g. wind, microbiological activity). The fluxes of chemicals at the snow-atmosphere and snow-soil interfaces are examined, as are processes which modify composition within the snowcover. It is the first book in which the reader will find a...