Factors controlling the water quality of rock glacier springs in European and American mountain ranges.

Rock glaciers (RGs) provide significant water resources in mountain areas under climate change. Recent research has highlighted high concentrations of solutes including trace elements in RG-fed waters, with negative implications on water quality. Yet, sparse studies from a few locations hinder conclusions about the main drivers of solute export from RGs.

Bacterial diversity and geomicrobiology of Winter Wonderland ice cave, Utah, USA.

The Winter Wonderland ice cave, located at an elevation of 3140 m above sea level in the Uinta Mountains of northern Utah, USA, maintains a constant sub-zero temperature. Seasonal snowmelt and rain enter the cave, freeze on the surface of the existing ice, and contribute to a 3-m-thick layered ice mass. This ice mass contains organic matter and cryogenic cave carbonates (CCCs) that date back centuries.

Relation between regional drought and mountain dust deposition revealed by a 10-year record from an alpine critical zone.

Mineral dust was collected with a network of passive samplers in the Uinta Mountains (Utah, USA) over a 10-year period to evaluate the relation between regional drought and dust deposition. A total of 72 samples from eight collectors were analyzed for flux, grain size distribution, mineralogy, geochemistry, and their Sr and Nd isotopic fingerprint. The dust is primarily very fine silt, with an average median grain size of 11.

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA.

Winter Wonderland Cave contains perennial ice associated with two types of cryogenic cave carbonate (CCC) formed during the freezing of water. CCC is characterized by relatively high δC values, whereas CCC exhibits notably low δO values indicating precipitation under (semi)closed-system conditions in a pool of residual water beneath an ice lid. Previous work has concluded that CCC forms during permafrost thaw, making the presence of this precipitate a valuable indicator of past cryospheric change.