Air pollutant contamination and acidification of surface waters in the North York Moors, UK: Multi-proxy evidence from the sediments of a moorland pool

Abstract

Despite the extensive geographical range of palaeolimnological studies designed to assess the extent of surface water acidification in the United Kingdom during the 1980s, little attention was paid to the status of surface waters in the North York Moors (NYM). In this paper, we present sediment core data from a moorland pool in the NYM that provide a record of air pollution contamination and surface water acidification. The 41-cm-long core was divided into three lithostratigraphic units. The lower two comprise peaty soils and peats, respectively, that date to between approximately 8080 and 6740 cal. BP. The uppermost unit comprises peaty lake muds dating from between approximately ad 1790 and the present day (ad 2006). The lower two units contain pollen dominated by forest taxa, whereas the uppermost unit contains pollen indicative of open landscape conditions similar to those of the present. Heavy metal, spheroidal carbonaceous particle, mineral magnetics and stable isotope analysis of the upper sediments show clear evidence of contamination by air pollutants derived from fossil-fuel combustion over the last c. 150 years, and diatom analysis indicates that the naturally acidic pool became more acidic during the 20th century. We conclude that the exceptionally acidic surface waters of the pool at present (pH = c. 4.1) are the result of a long history of air pollution and not because of naturally acidic local conditions. We argue that the highly acidic surface waters elsewhere in the NYM are similarly acidified and that the lack of evidence of significant recovery from acidification, despite major reductions in the emissions of acidic gases that have taken place over the last c. 30 years, indicates the continuing influence of pollutant sulphur stored in catchment peats, a legacy of over 150 years of acid deposition.

A century of anthropogenic environmental change in tropical Asia: Multi-proxy palaeolimnological evidence from Singapore’s Central Catchment

“…Although up-core changes in δ 15 N are relatively modest in MRR2, there is a slight but notable depletion in δ 15 N values by about 0.5‰ from a maximum of +3.0‰ around the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s. This depletion correlates closely with the rapid increase in SCP fluxes, suggesting that N emissions from the expansion of domestic fossil fuel combustion likely accounted for the lower values (Battarbee et al, 2015).…”

“…RDA for both cores indicates that SCP flux was a strong predictor of diatom response at the reservoir. However, whereas SCP flux would normally be expected to be positively correlated with acidophilous taxa because of acidification from industrial sources (Battarbee et al, 2015), the RDA biplots instead reveal a negative association between SCP flux and F. saxonica and B. brebissonii , both acidophilous and oligotrophic diatoms, but a positive association with A. granulata, B. neoexilis and D. pseudostelligera , all of which favour more nutrient-rich conditions. This suggests that increasing productivity was a dominant driver of ecological change at the study site, and that any acidification pressures associated with industrialisation were secondary.…”

Source and quantity of carbon influence its sequestration in Rostherne Mere (UK) sediment: a novel application of stepped combustion radiocarbon analysis

“…Rostherne Mere was selected for study because it has an extensive record of monitoring and sediment analysis (Tattersall and Coward 1914;Reynolds and Rogers 1976;Livingstone and Cambray 1978;Battarbee 1984;Battarbee et al 2015;Radbourne 2019b), is part of the UK Lake Ecological Observatory Network (UKLEON) project (http://www.ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/ uklake-ecological-observatory-network-ukleon), and hosts an automated water quality station at a central buoy. Multiple studies examined nutrient cycling and sedimentation processes in the lake (Scott 2014;Radbourne et al 2017Radbourne et al , 2019a.…”

Lake-sediment record of PAH, mercury, and fly-ash particle deposition near coal-fired power plants in Central Alberta, Canada

“…The decline in SCP accumulation rates in Hasse Lake sediments after~1971 may reflect the effectiveness of particle control technologies (electrostatic precipitators and filter baghouses) implemented during the 1970s, despite the addition of the Keephills and Genesee plants to the region in 1983 and 1989, respectively. The use of these technologies has also been linked to recent declines in SCP accumulation rates to surface sediments in several European lakes (Battarbee et al, 2015;Pla et al, 2009;Rose and Monteith, 2005) and is generally considered an important determinant of recent declines in particle emissions (Rose, 2001).…”