Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite
Naturally occurring acid rock drainage (ARD) appears to be promoted in permafrost environments with pyritebearing host rocks. However, it is poorly understood how the interaction between solid ice, meltwater and pyrite causes the formation of sulfuric acid and the subsequent mobilization of toxic el...
Published in: | Global and Planetary Change |
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Language: | English |
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Elsevier Science
2023
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Online Access: | https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/1/WannerEtAlGloplacha_23.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/2/WannerEtAlGloplacha_23SI.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/ |
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ftunivbern:oai:boris.unibe.ch:184604 2023-08-20T04:07:07+02:00 Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite Wanner, Christoph Moradi, Hoda Ingold, Philipp Cardenas Bocanegra, Miguel A. Mercurio, Romano Furrer, Gerhard 2023-06-17 application/pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/1/WannerEtAlGloplacha_23.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/2/WannerEtAlGloplacha_23SI.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/ eng eng Elsevier Science https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Wanner, Christoph; Moradi, Hoda; Ingold, Philipp; Cardenas Bocanegra, Miguel A.; Mercurio, Romano; Furrer, Gerhard (2023). Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite. Global and planetary change, 227, p. 104180. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104180 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104180> 550 Earth sciences & geology info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion PeerReviewed 2023 ftunivbern https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104180 2023-07-31T22:22:25Z Naturally occurring acid rock drainage (ARD) appears to be promoted in permafrost environments with pyritebearing host rocks. However, it is poorly understood how the interaction between solid ice, meltwater and pyrite causes the formation of sulfuric acid and the subsequent mobilization of toxic elements. To elucidate the governing processes and to assess the general hazard of ARD in permafrost areas in the context of global warming, we present chemical water analyses for six high-alpine surface waters downstream of intact rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps. In addition, we provide a detailed chemical and structural characterization of nanocrystalline Al-hydroxysulfate precipitates forming along the streams and serving as a visual manifestation of ARD. Finally, we show results from column experiments, experimentally simulating the interaction between water and pyrite-bearing paragneisses. Studying ARD on both, the field and laboratory scales, demonstrated that under field-site conditions intact rock glaciers may act as highly efficient chemical reactors, resulting in high concentrations of toxic elements such as aluminum, nickel, manganese, and fluorine in the sampled high-alpine streams. The most likely reason for the strong mobilization of these elements is their temporal storage and enrichment in the frozen rock glacier core, leading to a quick and focused export in summer when ice melt production rates are high. The analyses of the Al-hydroxysulfate precipitates confirmed the presence of basaluminite (Al4(OH)10(SO4) x 3 H2O), controlling the solubility of aluminum. Geochemical modeling allowed to quantify the inverse behavior of the basaluminite solubility with temperature, resulting in a field-derived standard reaction enthalpy (ΔrH◦) of - 580 kJ mol -1. This value can now be used to determine the solubility of aluminum also at temperatures relevant for permafrost settings (0–5 ◦C). Aerial photographs of the study sites suggest a strong intensification of ARD in the Central Eastern Alps over the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) Global and Planetary Change 227 104180 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
BORIS (Bern Open Repository and Information System, University of Bern) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbern |
language |
English |
topic |
550 Earth sciences & geology |
spellingShingle |
550 Earth sciences & geology Wanner, Christoph Moradi, Hoda Ingold, Philipp Cardenas Bocanegra, Miguel A. Mercurio, Romano Furrer, Gerhard Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
topic_facet |
550 Earth sciences & geology |
description |
Naturally occurring acid rock drainage (ARD) appears to be promoted in permafrost environments with pyritebearing host rocks. However, it is poorly understood how the interaction between solid ice, meltwater and pyrite causes the formation of sulfuric acid and the subsequent mobilization of toxic elements. To elucidate the governing processes and to assess the general hazard of ARD in permafrost areas in the context of global warming, we present chemical water analyses for six high-alpine surface waters downstream of intact rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps. In addition, we provide a detailed chemical and structural characterization of nanocrystalline Al-hydroxysulfate precipitates forming along the streams and serving as a visual manifestation of ARD. Finally, we show results from column experiments, experimentally simulating the interaction between water and pyrite-bearing paragneisses. Studying ARD on both, the field and laboratory scales, demonstrated that under field-site conditions intact rock glaciers may act as highly efficient chemical reactors, resulting in high concentrations of toxic elements such as aluminum, nickel, manganese, and fluorine in the sampled high-alpine streams. The most likely reason for the strong mobilization of these elements is their temporal storage and enrichment in the frozen rock glacier core, leading to a quick and focused export in summer when ice melt production rates are high. The analyses of the Al-hydroxysulfate precipitates confirmed the presence of basaluminite (Al4(OH)10(SO4) x 3 H2O), controlling the solubility of aluminum. Geochemical modeling allowed to quantify the inverse behavior of the basaluminite solubility with temperature, resulting in a field-derived standard reaction enthalpy (ΔrH◦) of - 580 kJ mol -1. This value can now be used to determine the solubility of aluminum also at temperatures relevant for permafrost settings (0–5 ◦C). Aerial photographs of the study sites suggest a strong intensification of ARD in the Central Eastern Alps over the ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Wanner, Christoph Moradi, Hoda Ingold, Philipp Cardenas Bocanegra, Miguel A. Mercurio, Romano Furrer, Gerhard |
author_facet |
Wanner, Christoph Moradi, Hoda Ingold, Philipp Cardenas Bocanegra, Miguel A. Mercurio, Romano Furrer, Gerhard |
author_sort |
Wanner, Christoph |
title |
Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
title_short |
Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
title_full |
Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
title_fullStr |
Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
title_full_unstemmed |
Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
title_sort |
rock glaciers in the central eastern alps – how permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite |
publisher |
Elsevier Science |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/1/WannerEtAlGloplacha_23.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/2/WannerEtAlGloplacha_23SI.pdf https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/ |
genre |
Ice permafrost |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost |
op_source |
Wanner, Christoph; Moradi, Hoda; Ingold, Philipp; Cardenas Bocanegra, Miguel A.; Mercurio, Romano; Furrer, Gerhard (2023). Rock glaciers in the Central Eastern Alps – How permafrost degradation can cause acid rock drainage, mobilization of toxic elements and formation of basaluminite. Global and planetary change, 227, p. 104180. Elsevier Science 10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104180 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104180> |
op_relation |
https://boris.unibe.ch/184604/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2023.104180 |
container_title |
Global and Planetary Change |
container_volume |
227 |
container_start_page |
104180 |
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1774718574696333312 |