Metadata file for melt pond depth, salinity and stable 
isotope measurements.

For a larger number of ponds near the ice mass balance 
sites and in the wider surroundings, repeated measurements 
of melt pond depth and salinity have been carried out. For 
larger ponds, depth was measured along the major and 
minor pond axes at 0.5 or 1 m spacing (measurement error 
<0.01 m). Salinity was measured either in-situ or on 
samples obtained at several depth levels with a YSI 30 
conductivity sonde (measurement error <0.02 or <1 % of 
the bulk salinity, whichever is larger). Some water samples 
were transferred into glass bottles for measurements of 
delta-18-O at the Stable Isotope Laboratory, Dept. of 
Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, Calgary, 
Canada (Dr. H. R. Krouse, Dr. S. Taylor). Stable-isotope 
measurements were performed on a VG 903 mass spectrometer 
(carbon dioxide equilibration, measured against VSMOW)
at a precision of better than 0.4 ppt. 
The first column in the data file indicates the day of the year 
on which measurements were taken (in 1998), the second 
column indicates the number of the sample for that day. The 
third and fourth column show the mean and standard 
deviation of pond depth in meters. The fifth column gives 
the salinity of pond water samples specified in practical 
salinity units (psu). Salinities below the detection limit 
(0.01) are listed as zero. The sixth column lists the delta-
18-O value of the water sample in parts per thousand.
The data block is preceded by a header of two lines
indicating the location and day (line 1) and identifying
the column variables and units (line 2).