Water-Rock Interaction and Freeze-Thaw Cycles as Drivers of Acid Rock Drainage Generation by a Rock Glacier in the European Alps.

ABSTRACT: Little is known to date about the processes governing natural acid rock drainage (NARD) generated by rock glaciers. We used paragneiss samples from a catchment with NARD generated by a rock glacier in the Italian Alps for long-term leaching experiments under conditions that are possible within rock glaciers. The findings clearly suggest that at a low acid neutralization capacity of the rock, the dissolution of sulfide minerals, even if they are present in trace amounts, may be the most important process that controls the groundwater acidity at 1 °C, a typical temperature of groundwater discharge from rock glaciers. The acidic conditions increase the solubility and mobility of aquifer lithology-specific trace elements, and concentrations of some heavy metals of geogenic origin (e.g., Mn and

SUBMITTER: Ilyashuk B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11650631 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature