Articles | Volume 30, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1969-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-1969-2026
Research article
 | 
13 Apr 2026
Research article |  | 13 Apr 2026

Diffuse sources of TFA: atmospheric and terrestrial inputs, retention and pathways at the catchment scale

Immanuel Frenzel, Dario Nöltge, Finnian Freeling, Michael Müller, and Jens Lange

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Cited articles

Albers, C. N. and Sültenfuss, J.: A 60-Year Increase in the Ultrashort-Chain PFAS Trifluoroacetate and Its Suitability as a Tracer for Groundwater Age, Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett., 11, 1090–1095, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00525, 2024. 
Alexandrino, D. A. M., Almeida, C. M. R., Mucha, A. P., and Carvalho, M. F.: Revisiting pesticide pollution: The case of fluorinated pesticides, Environ. Pollut., 292, 118315, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118315, 2022. 
Arp, H. P. H., Gredelj, A., Glüge, J., Scheringer, M., and Cousins, I. T.: The Global Threat from the Irreversible Accumulation of Trifluoroacetic Acid (TFA), Environ. Sci. Technol., 58, 19925–19935, https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c06189, 2024. 
Bachmair, S. and Weiler, M.: Interactions and connectivity between runoff generation processes of different spatial scales, Hydrol. Process., 28, 1916–1930, https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.9705, 2014. 
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Short summary
We studied trifluoroacetate (TFA) in a German river catchment. TFA from rain was not permanently retained in soils or plants and can be mobilized  by heavy rain, meaning soils and plants may hold more TFA than rivers or rainfall indicate. In areas with precipitation input only, TFA served as a new tracer for determining actual evapotranspiration. The agricultural area showed higher TFA in surface and groundwater, suggesting that agriculture increases TFA pollution.
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