 iron, zinc, and copper. As Ray Solomon with member station KUNC reports, researchers are blaming a warming climate. With rising temperatures, some streams and rivers in the high Rocky Mountains are growing more acidic and polluted with higher concentrations of heavy metals. That hurts ecosystems, killing plants and aquatic wildlife, and it could become a problem for drinking water. Research geologist Andrew Manning with the U.S. Geological Survey co-authored the study. He says one explanation is disappearing a permafrost.