A new study finds the lofted pollutants came from major European cities, but further study is required to fully understand the plastics’ transport and deposition processes.
Alps
The Goldilocks Zone May Be Just Right for Migrating Metals
Researchers identified a gateway that allows metals critical for renewable energy technologies, like copper and gold, to make their way to the surface.
Mountains Sway to the Seismic Song of Earth
The Matterhorn in the Swiss Alps is in constant motion, gently swaying back and forth about once every 2 seconds.
Revealing How Rock Glaciers Respond to Climate Change
Detailed measurements of the geometry and flow of Laurichard rock glacier over 67 years reveal the distinctive behavior of these landforms through periods of warming and cooling.
Climate Warming Improves Oxygen Mixing in a High-Altitude Lake
Long term weather and lake data from a high elevation lake in the Alps demonstrate that climate warming may actually improve the ability of high-altitude deep lakes to mix their waters.
Hydropower and Bugs
Alpine hydropower plants commonly flush sediment that accumulates at intakes, but the associated rapid rise in discharge, turbidity, and streambed instability put aquatic insects at risk.
Europe’s Mightiest Glaciers Are Melting
Here’s what a century of ice melt looks like on the Alps’ highest peak.
Ancient Precipitation Reveals Clues About Mountains and Climate
By studying the chemical signatures of 300-million-year-old precipitation, researchers find evidence that the supercontinent Pangea contained peaks as tall as the European Alps.
Plastic Fragments Found for the First Time on a Glacier
The discovery, made in the Italian Alps, confirms the ubiquity of plastic pollution worldwide.
Decadal Changes in Glacial Discharge in the High Alps
A new statistical analysis of daily, glacial runoff cycles offers a unique way of examining how Alpine glaciers have responded since the onset of rapid regional warming in the 1980s.