Snowpack characteristics of Brøggerhalvøya, Svalbard Islands

This paper is focused to the study of spatial variability of snowcover indifferent polar environmental contests. To this aim we present about 200 stratigraphic profiles of the snowpack, collected in the last years (1998-2015), in selected sites along the coast of the Brøggerhalvøya peninsula (Svalbard Islands). The different layers in the snowpack were identified and classified according to the International Standards, in terms of grain size, grain types, hardness and density. These data were used to calculate average values of hardness and density for each layer showing the same grain type characteristics. These snow stratigraphic profiles, coupled with meteorological observations, represent a valuable dataset to describe the relationship in the snowpack between pluriannial and seasonal snow and to study the characteristics of seasonal snow covers in the Svalbard region and their transformation during spring season. The stratigraphic dataset analysis seem to confirm an Arctic snow climate maritime for Brøggerhalvøya area as evidenced for a different site in Svalbard Island (Longyearbyen) by other authors.