Laboratory Studies on the Fate of Perfluoroalkyl Carboxylates and Sulfonates during Snowmelt

Experiments conducted to determine how PFAAs are released from a melting snowpack found a peak elution type, with peak concentrations occurring earlier in a snowpack with lower SSA.

Abstract

Perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) are anthropogenic chemicals that occur in snow from both remote and source regions. Experiments were conducted to determine how PFAAs are released from a melting snowpack. Different PFAAs eluted from the snowpack at different times, those with short chains eluting early, those with long chains eluting late. The concentrations in the meltwater of PFAAs with medium chain lengths of 6 to 9 perfluorinated carbon atoms first increased and then decreased during the melt period. Such a peak elution had not been previously observed for any other chemicals. The specific snow surface area (SSA) influenced this elution type, with peak concentrations occurring earlier in a snowpack with lower SSA. Model simulations suggested that the snow surface decrease during the melt alone was insufficient to explain the observations. It was ruled out that the calcium concentration affected PFAA sorption to the snow surface in a similar way as sorption to sediments. Adsorption coefficients of PFAAs to the snow surface were estimated by fitting the measured and modeled elution profiles.