Persistent organic pollutants as proxies for the quantification of glacier melting on the Tibetan Plateau

• Applicant: Dr. Tilman Gocht
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2010 to 2013
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 180325907

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are toxic chemicals that are ubiquitously distributed in the environment. Some of these pollutants are suspected to accumulate preferentially in cold environments due to enhanced atmospheric deposition. In cold environments accumulation of POPs occurs primarily in two compartments: (1) in soils and sediments and (2) in glaciers. Subsequent to deposition the compounds remain stable and become incorporated into the respective compartments due to continuous sedimentation of fresh material (snow or sediments, respectively) allowing the reconstruction of their historical record. However, both compartments are connected through melt water and global warming forces glacier melting. Hence, the release of POPs stored in the glaciers potentially impacts the historical record of POPs in glacier-fed lakes.In the proposed project we investigate the historical record of POPs in glacier-fed lake sediments at the Tibetan Plateau in order to assess the role glaciers as a secondary source for POPs. This will serve as preliminary work for a full proposal aiming on the quantification of recent glacier melting through the determination of POP fuxes.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1372: Tibetan Plateau: Formation - Climate - Ecosystems (TiP)
• International Connection: China
• Participating Person: Professor Dr. Yao Tandong