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The surface waters of the Arctic Ocean include an important inventory of freshwater from rivers, sea ice melt, and glacial meltwaters. While some freshwaters are mixed directly into the surface ocean, cryospheric reservoirs, such as snow, sea ice, and melt ponds act as incubators for trace metals, as well as potential sources to the surface ocean upon melting. The availability and reactivity of these metals depends on their speciation, which may vary across each pool or undergo transformation upon mixing. We present here baseline measurements of colloidal (~0.003-0.200 µm) iron (Fe), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and manganese (Mn) in snow, sea ice, melt ponds, and the underlying seawater. We consider both the total concentration of colloidal metals ([cMe]) in each cryospheric reservoir and the contribution of cMe to the overall dissolved metal phase (%cMe). Notably, snow contained higher (cMe) as well as higher %cMe relative to seawater for metals such as Fe and Zn across most stations. Stations close to the North Pole had relatively high aerosol deposition, imparting high (cFe) and (cZn), as well as high %cFe, %cZn, %cMn, and %cCd (>80%). In contrast, surface seawater concentrations of Cd, Cu, Mn, and Ni were dominated by the soluble phase (<0.003 µm), suggesting little impact of cMe from the melting cryosphere, or rapid aggregation/disaggregation dynamics within surface waters leading to the loss of cMe. This has important implications for how trace metal biogeochemistry speciation and thus fluxes may change in a future ice-free Arctic Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melt ponds are a prominent feature of Arctic sea ice during the summer and play a role in the complex interface between the atmosphere, cryosphere and surface ocean. During melt pond formation and development, micronutrient and contaminant trace elements (TEs) from seasonally accumulated atmospheric deposition are mixed with entrained sedimentary and marine-derived material before being released to the surface ocean during sea ice melting. Here we present particulate and size-fractionated dissolved (truly soluble and colloidal) TE data from five melt ponds sampled in late summer 2015, during the US Arctic GEOTRACES (GN01) cruise. Analyses of salinity, δ 18 O, and 7 Be indicate variable contributions to the melt ponds from snowmelt, melting sea ice, and surface seawater. Our data highlight the complex TE biogeochemistry of late summer Arctic melt ponds and the variable importance of different sources for specific TEs. Dissolved TE concentrations indicate a strong influence from seawater intrusion for V, Ni, Cu, Cd, and Ba. Ultrafiltration methods reveal dissolved Fe, Zn, and Pb to be mostly colloidal (0.003–0.2 μm), while Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, and Cd are dominated by a truly soluble (<0.003 μm) fraction. Isotopically light dissolved Fe in some melt ponds suggests that photochemical and/or biologically driven redox cycling also takes place. Comparisons of particulate TE/Al ratios to mean crustal values indicate influences from lithogenic sources, including natural aerosols and/or sedimentary material, with significant enrichments for some elements, including Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb, that may result from anthropogenic aerosols, biogenic material, and/or in situ scavenging of dissolved TEs. Our results indicate that melt ponds represent a transitional environment in which some atmospherically-derived TEs undergo physical and/or chemical changes before their release to the surface ocean. As a result, the ongoing changes in sea ice areal extent, thickness, and melt season length are likely to influence the bioavailability of atmospheric TE input to the surface Arctic Ocean, with material released from snow and sea ice via melt ponds earlier in the summer and with more extensive direct deposition to the ocean surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]