Snow plays an essential role in the Arctic as the interface between the sea ice and the atmosphere. Optical properties, thermal conductivity and mass distribution are critical to understanding the complex Arctic sea ice system's energy balance and mass distribution. By conducting measurements from October 2019 to September 2020 on the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition, we have produced a dataset capturing the year-long evolution of the physical properties of the snow and surface scattering layer, a highly porous surface layer on Arctic sea ice that evolves due to preferential melt at the ice grain boundaries.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe behaviour and distribution of iodine in the environment are of significant interest in a range of scientific disciplines, from health, as iodine is an essential element for humans and animals, to climate and air quality, to geochemistry. Aquatic environments are the reservoir for iodine, where it exists in low concentrations as iodide, iodate and dissolved organic iodine and in which it undergoes redox reactions. The current measurement techniques for iodine species are typically time-consuming, subject to relatively poor precision and require specialist instrumentation including those that require mercury as an electrode.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHumans obtain vitamin D from conversion of 7-dehydrocholesterol in the skin by ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation or from dietary sources. As the radiation level is insufficient in winter, vitamin D deficiency is common at higher latitudes. We assessed whether vernal solar UVB radiation at latitudes 61°N and 67°N in Finland has an impact on serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [S-25(OH)D] concentrations.
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