An Alpine ice-core record of anthropogenic HF and HCl emissions

Ice-core records of an Alpine glacier from the southern Swiss Alps were used to reconstruct sources of inorganic F(-) and Cl(-) in precipitation. Our results suggest that sea salt transported together with mineral dust mainly from the Saharan area is the predominant source of Cl(-) in the southern Alps. However, on the average 16% of the Cl(-) and most of the F(-) deposition in the period 1937-94 could be related to HCl and HF emissions from anthropogenic sources. The record of non-sea-salt Cl(-) was found to represent the historical development of HCl emissions mainly from waste incineration in the Swiss Plateau, whereas the F(-) deposition record reflects HF emissions from the aluminum industry in the Swiss Rhone valley. Thus, our data indicate a strong impact of emissions of short lived atmospheric species such as HCl and HF on local and regional precipitation chemistry.