Ice amplifies ligand-controlled mineral dissolution in microscale hot spotsShow others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, ISSN 0027-8424, E-ISSN 1091-6490, Vol. 123, no 17, article id e2532599123Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Cold-region ecosystems are highly sensitive to climate change, yet the geochemical processes shaping their future remain poorly understood. Here, we show that ice systematically enhances mineral dissolution through freeze concentration into microscale reactive hot spots. Using goethite nanoparticles as a model iron oxide and environmentally relevant inorganic anions common in soils, waters, and aerosols (chloride, fluoride, sulfate), we demonstrate that ligand-promoted dissolution rates under mildly acidic conditions scale with binding affinity in both ice and liquid water, with ice enhancing rates across all reactive ligands. Fluoride, the strongest complexing agent, increased dissolution more than fourfold in ice, while weakly binding perchlorate produced no measurable dissolution in either phase. Reactions persisted well below the eutectic temperature, mediated by minute volumes of liquid-like water stabilized within networks of micron-sized mineral aggregates. Our findings highlight ice as a dynamic medium driving iron release, with implications for nutrient availability, carbon cycling, and biogeochemical feedbacks in rapidly warming polar and alpine regions.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 2026. Vol. 123, no 17, article id e2532599123
Keywords [en]
dissolution, goethite, ice, interfaces, iron
National Category
Geochemistry Environmental Sciences Physical Chemistry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-252816DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2532599123ISI: 001759851100001PubMedID: 42018417Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105036792775OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-252816DiVA, id: diva2:2064562
Funder
Swedish Research Council, 2020-04853Swedish Research Council, 2024-04694Swedish Research Council Formas, 2022-01246The Kempe Foundations, JCSMK 23-172Carl Tryggers foundation , CTS 22:23262026-06-022026-06-022026-06-02Bibliographically approved