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Sounds like rust. Congratulations, you’ve struck iron.
How ironic.
Pretty misleading title.
It is known why the rivers are running orange. It is because the permafrost is thawing.
Sure, the exact, specific process causing the oxidation is being debated by scientists, but … the reason is because the permafrost is thawing.
Anyway, what this nearly certainly means is that the artic has already blown past the feared warming tipping point and is now releasing methane, which is a much more potent greenhouse gas than CO2.
This article should be focusing on how this likely indicates that climate change will intensify faster than commonly understood by the general public.
But instead it diverts from this.
Sure, the exact, specific process causing the oxidation is being debated by scientists, but …
Which makes the title accurate? I didn’t find it misleading at all.
It’s more like the article is focusing on the wrong part of this story. The exact mechanism can be debated but we know what’s happening and why: global warming. The article just doesn’t want to acknowledge that so it focuses on the fact that science hasn’t conclusively figured out the mechanism.
It’s not focusing on what you want it to focus on. But that doesn’t make it the wrong thing.
It’s not naturally occurring aqua regia, is it?
It’s a geochemistry issue.
In mine closure, artic mines will protect their tailings and waste rock using thermal covers that insulate them from heat, and allow permafrost to form, thus entombing the PAG (Potentially acid generating material - acid drainage presents orange like this too). The frost prevent oxygen (and dissolved oxygen - from water) from interacting with the material, and causing the acid-generating reaction.
With the thawing of natural permafrost, iron that was frozen (as water soluble reduced iron) is released and then oxidized, causing the orange water.
So it’s rust.
Rust, or rusty water with battery acid pH
