ROCK-ME: Geochemical response of Alpine Rock Glaciers to global warming: hydroecological consequences of trace element Export.
The melting of rock glaciers (permafrost) and glaciers is often a source of enrichment in trace metals for high-altitude waters, where they reach concentrations that can exceed legislative limits for human use, thus affecting the chemical and biological quality, and functionality of Alpine aquatic ecosystems. This project aims to understand and quantify the origin, fate, and effects of these trace elements in three glacial and periglacial basins on the north and south slopes of the central and eastern Alps, with a focus on abiotic and biotic processes that alter the concentration of metals in water and trophic networks (assimilation, bioaccumulation).