Glacial warming’s pollutant threat
By Janet Raloff
From Washington, D.C., at the 166th annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
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Every summer, certain lakes in the northern Rockies receive a rich input of long-banned air pollutants. A tiny crustacean has just pointed scientists to an unexpected source—glaciers.
Oily, semivolatile pollutants can spend years leapfrogging around the globe, by repeatedly evaporating and settling, until they reach cold climes and can’t re-evaporate (SN: 3/16/96, p. 174). Once in the water there, the pollutants slowly move up the food chain. Plankton pick up only a little of the substances, but oily, predatory fish and marine mammals accumulate plenty.