title: A Temperate Alpine Glacier as a Reservoir of Polychlorinated Biphenyls: Model Results of Incorporation, Transport, and Release.
abstract: In previous studies, the incorporation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) has been quantified in the accumulation areas of Alpine glaciers. Here, we introduce a model framework that quantifies mass fluxes of PCBs in glaciers and apply it to the Silvretta glacier (Switzerland). The models include PCB incorporation into the entire surface of the glacier, downhill transport with the flow of the glacier ice, and chemical fate in the glacial lake. The models are run for the years 1900-2100 and validated by comparing modeled and measured PCB concentrations in an ice core, a lake sediment core, and the glacial streamwater. The incorporation and release fluxes, as well as the storage of PCBs in the glacier increase until the 1980s and decrease thereafter. After a temporary increase in the 2000s, the future PCB release and the PCB concentrations in the glacial stream are estimated to be small but persistent throughout the 21st century. This study quantifies all relevant PCB fluxes in and from a temperate Alpine glacier over two centuries, and concludes that Alpine glaciers are a small secondary source of PCBs, but that the aftermath of environmental pollution by persistent and toxic chemicals can endure for decades.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich , CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steinlin
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich , CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.|Agroscope , Institute for Sustainability Sciences ISS, CH-8046 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bogdal
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography, University of Zurich , CH-8057 Zurich, Switzerland.|Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich , CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martin P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Lüthi
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) , CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.|Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) , CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.|Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Berne , CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Berne , CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Pavlina A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Pavlova
authors.affiliation: Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) , CH-5232 Villigen, Switzerland.|Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Berne , CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.|Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Berne , CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Margit
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwikowski
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) , CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zennegg
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology (Empa) , CH-8600 Dübendorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich , CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.|Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Masaryk University , 62500 Brno, Czech Republic.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scheringer
authors.affiliation: Institute for Chemical and Bioengineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, ETH Zurich , CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Konrad
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hungerbühler
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D046448:Ice Cover; D060106:Lakes; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls; D013557:Switzerland; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls