The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
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Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5153-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-5153-2024
© Author(s) 2024. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 18, issue 11
Research article
 | 
14 Nov 2024
Research article |  | 14 Nov 2024

Massive mobilization of toxic elements from an intact rock glacier in the central Eastern Alps

Hoda Moradi, Gerhard Furrer, Michael Margreth, David Mair, and Christoph Wanner

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Cited articles

ANU: Hydrodaten, Office for Nature and Environment, Canton of Grabünden, https://www.gr.ch/DE/institutionen/verwaltung/ekud/anu/aktuelles/umweltbeobachtung/hydrodaten/Seiten/Hydrodaten.aspx#/device/UMBRAIL_20/pegel_m, last access: 11 January 2024. 
Ballantyne, C. K.: Periglacial Geomorphology, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, ISBN 9781405100069, 2018. 
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Brighenti, S., Tolotti, M., Bruno, M. C., Wharton, G., Pusch, M. T., and Bertoldi, W.: Ecosystem shifts in Alpine streams under glacier retreat and rock glacier thaw: A review, Sci. Total Environ., 675, 542–559, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.04.221, 2019. 
Brighenti, S., Engel, M., Tolotti, M., Bruno, M. C., Wharton, G., Comiti, F., Tirler, W., Cerasino, L., and Bertoldi, W.: Contrasting physical and chemical conditions of two rock glacier springs, Hydrol. Process., 35, 1–18, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14159, 2021. 
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Detailed monitoring of a rock glacier spring in the Eastern Alps showed that more than 1 tonne of toxic solutes, such as aluminum, nickel, and manganese, is mobilized each year from a small permafrost area. The strong mobilization is caused by rock weathering and long-term accumulation of toxic solutes in permafrost ice. Today, climate-change-induced permafrost degradation leads to a quick and focused export in summer. This forms an unexpected, novel hazard for alpine and high-latitude areas.
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