Stable lead isotopic characterisation of the historical record of environmental lead contamination in dated freshwater lake sediment cores from northern and central Scotland

Eades, Lorna J.; Farmer, John G.; MacKenzie, A.B.; Kirika, A.; Bailey‐Watts, A. E.

doi:10.1016/s0048-9697(02)00026-8

Cited by 110 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…These Scottish or UK sources primarily record atmospheric aerial deposition and include peat cores [30,31], lake sediment cores [32] and vegetation, such as tree bark [26], moss [16] and grass [15]. The major issues with peat or lake cores include collection from sites remote from the Clyde and accurate dating of layers.…”

Section: (C) Towards a Lead Contaminant Chronology For Clyde Core Matmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, ^207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Vane

Chenery

Harrison

et al. 2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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The sediment concentrations of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPHs), polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), Pb and 207/206 Pb isotope ratios were measured in seven cores from the middle Clyde estuary (Scotland, UK) with an aim of tracking the late Anthropocene. Concentrations of TPHs ranged from 34 to 4386 mg kg −1 , total PAHs from 19 to 16 163 mg kg −1 and total PCBs between less than 4.3 to 1217 mg kg −1 . Inventories, distributions and isomeric ratios of the organic pollutants were used to reconstruct pollutant histories. Pre-Industrial Revolution and modern nonpolluted sediments were characterized by low TPH and PAH values as well as high relative abundance of biogenic-sourced phenanthrene and naphthalene. The increasing industrialization of the Clyde gave rise to elevated PAH concentrations and PAH isomeric ratios characteristic of both grass/wood/coal and petroleum and combustion (specifically petroleum combustion). Overall, PAHs had the longest history of any of the organic contaminants. Increasing TPH concentrations and a concomitant decline in PAHs mirrored the lessening of coal use and increasing reliance on petroleum fuels from about the 1950s. Thereafter, declining hydrocarbon pollution was followed by the onset (1950s), peak (1965-1977) and decline (post-1980s) in total PCB concentrations. Lead concentrations ranged from 6 to 631 mg kg −1 , while 207/206 Pb isotope ratios spanned 0.838-0.876, indicative of various proportions of 'background', British ore/coal and Broken Hill type petrol/industrial lead. A chronology was established using published Pb isotope data for aerosol-derived Pb and applied to the cores.

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Section: (C) Towards a Lead Contaminant Chronology For Clyde Core Matmentioning

confidence: 99%

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, ^207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Vane

Chenery

Harrison

et al. 2011

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. A.

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“…Indeed, the enrichment of trace metals in lacustrine sedimentary archives gives access to the history of anthropogenic pollutant input, and provides the possibility to evaluate the recent metal contamination in comparison to the natural (or pre-historic) level (Eades et al 2002;Thevenon et al 2011b). In the absence of long-term environmental records that could provide pre-anthropogenic levels of pollutants (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

et al. 2013

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Terrigenous (Sc, Fe, K, Mg, Al, Ti) and anthropogenic (Pb and Cu) element fluxes were measured in a new sediment core from Lake Biel (Switzerland) and in previously well-documented cores from two upstream lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun). These three large perialpine lakes are connected by the Aare River, which is the main tributary to the High Rhine River. Major and trace element analysis of the sediment cores by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) shows that the site of Lake Brienz receives three times more terrigenous elements than the two other studied sites, given by the role of Lake Brienz as the first major sediment sink located in the foothills of the Alps. Overall, the terrigenous fluxes reconstructed at the three studied sites suggest that the construction of sediment-trapping reservoirs during the twentieth century noticeably decreased the riverine suspended sediment load at a regional scale. In fact, the extensive river damming that occurred in the upstream watershed catchment (between ca. 1930 and 1950 and up to 2,300 m a.s.l.) and that significantly modified seasonal suspended sediment loads and riverine water discharge patterns to downstream lakes noticeably diminished the long-range transport of (fine) terrigenous particles by the Aare River. Concerning the transport of anthropogenic pollutants, the lowest lead enrichment factors (EFs Pb) were measured in the upstream course of the Aare River at the site of Lake Brienz, whereas the metal pollution was highest in downstream Lake Biel, with the maximum values measured between 1940 and 1970 (EF Pb [ 3). The following recorded regional reduction in aquatic Pb pollution started about 15 years before the actual introduction of unleaded gasoline in 1985. Furthermore, the radiometric dating of the sediment core from Lake Biel identifies three events of hydrological transport of artificial radionuclides released by the nuclear reactor of Mühleberg located at more than 15 km upstream of Lake Biel for the time period 1970-2000.

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“…However, other sources of aerosol Pb have been recorded in the UK with a range of 1.06-1.13 (Charlesworth et al, 2006;Noble et al, 2008). Whilst peat bogs and lake sediments have been extensively studied over the last decades as they provide undisturbed long-term records of Pb deposition (Chenery et al, 2012;Eades et al, 2002;Farmer et al, 1996Farmer et al, , 1997aFarmer et al, , 1997bFarmer et al, , 2005Hansmann and Köppel, 2000), it is only relatively recently that Pb isotopes have been applied as a method for provenancing the origin of Pb in riverine environments (Bird, 2011). Shepherd et al (2009) described a regional study of Pb isotopes in stream sediments from Northern England and concluded that the Pennine ore signature was dominant although the anthropogenic Pb contribution could be significant.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sources, lability and solubility of Pb in alluvial soils of the River Trent catchment, U.K.

Izquierdo

Tye

Chenery

2012

Science of The Total Environment

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Alluvial soils are reservoirs of metal contaminants such as Pb that originate from many different sources and are integrated temporally and spatially through erosional and depositional processes. In this study the source, lability and solubility of Pb was examined in a range of alluvial soils from the middle and lower River Trent and its tributary the River Dove using Pb isotope apportionment and isotopic dilution. All samples were collected within 10 m of the river bank to represent the soil that is most likely to be remobilised during bank erosion. Paired samples were taken from the topsoil Pb ratios showed that the isotopic ratios of Pb in the total, labile and solution pools fitted along a mixing line between Broken Hill Type ('BHT') Pb, used as an additive in UK petrol, and the local coal/Sourthern Pennine ore Pb. Various anomalies were found in the Pb isotopes of the bankside alluvial soils which were explained by point source pollution. Statistically significant differences were found between (i) the isotopic composition of Pb in the total soil pool and the labile/solution pools and (ii) the isotopic composition of Pb in the labile and solution pools, suggesting an enrichment of recent non-Pennine sources of Pb entering the soils in the labile and solution pools.

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Stable lead isotopic characterisation of the historical record of environmental lead contamination in dated freshwater lake sediment cores from northern and central Scotland

Cited by 110 publications

References 29 publications

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, ^207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, ^207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

Sources, lability and solubility of Pb in alluvial soils of the River Trent catchment, U.K.

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Stable lead isotopic characterisation of the historical record of environmental lead contamination in dated freshwater lake sediment cores from northern and central Scotland

Cited by 110 publications

References 29 publications

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, 207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, 207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades

Sources, lability and solubility of Pb in alluvial soils of the River Trent catchment, U.K.

Contact Info

Product

Resources

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Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, ^207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records

Chemical signatures of the Anthropocene in the Clyde estuary, UK: sediment-hosted Pb, ^207/206 Pb, total petroleum hydrocarbon, polyaromatic hydrocarbon and polychlorinated biphenyl pollution records