Hydrochemistry of water extracts and of ground ice and ice contents of permafrost cores from Barentburg area

Parts of the analyses have been carried out in the laboratories of the Russian Scientific Arctic Expedition on Spitsbergen Archipelago (RAE-S) Barentsburg Station. Gravimetric moisture content (ice content) was measured by weighing samples before and after drying at 50°C to relate the weight loss to the total weight of dry samples, expressed as weight percentage (wt%). Hydrochemical analyses of sedimentary permafrost samples was undertaken after water extraction. The material was dried and sieved at 1 mm. About 20 g of the sediment were suspended in 100 ml de-ionised water and filtered through 0.45 µm nylon mesh within 3 minutes after stirring.