The Arctic region is warming at over twice the mean rate of the Northern Hemisphere and nearly four times faster than the globe since 1979. The local rate of warming is even higher in the European archipelago of Svalbard. This warming is transforming the terrestrial snow cover, which modulates surface energy exchanges with the atmosphere, accounts for most of the runoff in Arctic catchments and is also a transient reservoir of atmospherically deposited compounds, including pollutants. Improved observations, understanding and modelling of changes in Arctic snow cover are needed to anticipate the effects these changes will have on the Arctic climate, atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems and socioeconomic factors. Svalbard has been an international hub of polar research for many decades and benefits from a well-developed science infrastructure. Here, we present an agenda for the future of snow research in Svalbard, jointly developed by a multidisciplinary community of experts. We review recent trends in snow research, identify key knowledge gaps, prioritize future research efforts and recommend supportive actions to advance our knowledge of present and future snow conditions pertaining to glacier mass balance, permafrost, surface hydrology, terrestrial ecology, the cycling and fate of atmospheric contaminants, and remote sensing of snow cover. This perspective piece addresses issues relevant to the circumpolar North and could be used as a template for other national or international Arctic research plans.

自 1979 年以来，北极地区的变暖速度是北半球平均速度的两倍多，几乎是全球变暖速度的四倍。欧洲斯瓦尔巴群岛的局部变暖速度甚至更高。这种变暖正在改变陆地积雪，它调节与大气的表面能量交换，占北极流域的大部分径流，也是大气沉积化合物（包括污染物）的暂时储存库。需要改进对北极积雪变化的观测、理解和建模，以预测这些变化对北极气候、大气、陆地生态系统和社会经济因素的影响。几十年来，斯瓦尔巴群岛一直是国际极地研究中心，并受益于发达的科学基础设施。在这里，我们提出了斯瓦尔巴特群岛雪研究未来的议程，该议程由多学科专家团体共同制定。我们回顾了雪研究的最新趋势，确定了关键的知识差距，确定了未来研究工作的优先顺序，并建议了支持性行动，以增进我们对与冰川质量平衡、永久冻土、地表水文学、陆地生态、循环和命运有关的当前和未来雪状况的了解。大气污染物和积雪遥感。这篇透视文章讨论了与北极圈相关的问题，可以用作其他国家或国际北极研究计划的模板。