The Medieval Metal Industry Was the Cradle of Modern Large-Scale Atmospheric Lead Pollution in Northern Europe

Brännvall, Maja-Lena; Bindler, Richard; Renberg, Ingemar; Emteryd, Ove; Bartnicki, Jerzy; Billström, Kjell

doi:10.1021/es990279n

Cited by 221 publications

(143 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…We found a remarkable consistency between our Pb record and the pollution Pb profiles of varved lakes in eastern Sweden, where the pre-industrial Pb fallout was mainly sourced from mainland Europe and from the British Isles (Brännvall et al, 1999; Fig. 2).…”

supporting

confidence: 76%

“…The NaOH-extraction and AMS-14 C measurements for nine selected core 25 depths were conducted at the Poznań Radiocarbon Laboratory, Poland (Goslar et al, 2004). In addition, we compared our bulk sediment Pb profiles with the Pb fallout records from varved lakes in Sweden (Brännvall et al, 1999) to constrain the chronology.…”

Section: Geochronological Methods 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…CC BY 4.0 License. identify the 1530 AD pollution peak and the pollution minima of 1350 and 1600 AD (Brännvall et al, 1999;Renberg et al, 2002) as age-depth points in Baltic Sea sediments.…”

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confidence: 99%

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A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20<sup>th</sup> century

Jokinen¹,

Virtasalo²,

Jilbert³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Abstract. The anthropogenically forced expansion of coastal hypoxia is a major environmental problem affecting coastal ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles throughout the world. The Baltic Sea is a semi-enclosed shelf sea whose central deep basins have been highly prone to deoxygenation during its Holocene history, as shown previously by numerous paleoenvironmental studies. However, long-term data on past fluctuations in the intensity of hypoxia in the coastal zone of the Baltic Sea are largely lacking, despite the significant role of these areas in retaining nutrients derived from the catchment.Here 5 we present a 1500-year multiproxy record of near-bottom water redox changes from the coastal zone of the northern Baltic Sea, encompassing the climatic phases of the Medieval Climate Anomaly (MCA), the Little Ice Age (LIA), and the Modern Warm Period (MoWP). Our reconstruction shows that although multicentennial climate variability has modulated depositional conditions and delivery of organic matter (OM) to the basin the modern aggravation of coastal hypoxia is unprecedented, and besides gradual changes in the basin configuration, it must have been forced by excess human-induced nutrient loading. The 10 progressive deoxygenation since the beginning of 1900s was originally triggered by the combined effects of gradual shoaling of the basin and warming climate, which amplified sediment focusing and increased the vulnerability to hypoxia. Importantly, the anthropogenic eutrophication of coastal waters in our study area began decades earlier than previously thought, leading to a marked aggravation of hypoxia in the 1950s through fueling primary productivity, while we find no evidence of anthropogenic forcing during the MCA. These results have implications for the assessment of reference conditions for coastal 15 water quality. Furthermore, this study highlights the need for combined use of sedimentological, ichnological, and geochemical proxies in order to robustly reconstruct subtle redox shifts especially in dynamic, non-euxinic coastal settings with strong seasonal contrasts in the bottom water quality. 25Biogeosciences Discuss., https://doi

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supporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Geochronological Methods 15mentioning

confidence: 99%

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A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20<sup>th</sup> century

Jokinen¹,

Virtasalo²,

Jilbert³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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“…However significant increase of heavy metals in sediments, especially Pb and Cd is caused by long distance atmospheric transportation (Pacyna 1987;Braennvall et al 1999). This study has shown that sediments of the studied lakes are polluted with heavy metals.…”

Section: Figmentioning

confidence: 70%

Records of the anthropogenic influence on different origin lake sediments of Latvia

Pujate¹,

Stankeviča²,

Kalniņa³

et al. 2015

Baltica

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Sediments in lakes have been formed under the conditions of sensitive ecosystem functions as historical records of micro-and macrocomponents. Besides others, lake sediments preserve macroremain and chemical evidence reflecting environmental changes and human impact. During the last centuries, sediment composition has been influenced by inconsistent urban and industrial developments. This article presents the multi-proxy data obtained from studies of lake sediment composition, chemical analysis and macroremain signatures in the upper sediment layer from tree small lakes of different origin: Lake Lilaste (lagoonal), Lake Velnezers (glaciokarstic), and Lake Veveri (glacial). The studies of lake sediments revealed that human impact is recognisable in the upper sediment layer of all investigated lakes, but at different depth from the sediment surface. The most recognisable traces of anthropogenic influence can be attributed to the increase of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) concentration, number of plant macroremains and charcoal particles in all investigated lake sediments.

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“…Serving as evidence of the biogeochemical significance of dust additions, these anthropogenic constituents are now found accumulating in environments where dust is a major sedimentary input (e.g. Brännvall et al, 1999;Le Roux et al, 2004;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trace elements and metal pollution in aerosols at an alpine site, New Zealand: Sources, concentrations and implications

Marx

Lavin

Hageman

et al. 2014

Atmospheric Environment

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Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected at a remote site in New Zealand's Southern Alps. Collected samples were found to be a mixture of New Zealand and Australian sourced sediment, using their trace element signatures. Aerosol concentrations and the relative contribution of different sources was found to be a function of specific air-mass trajectories influencing the study site, dust entrainment rates in source areas and rainfall. Results show that Australian dust is a major source of particulate matter in New Zealand, particularly in remote alpine locations; however, locally derived dust is also important. Metal pollutants, including Pb, Cu and Sn, were enriched in the samples by approximately 15 times and up to >100 times expected natural concentrations, confirming that metal pollution is a ubiquitous component of the atmosphere, even in relatively remote locations. Moreover, pollutants were highly enriched in otherwise clean air, i.e. during and following rainfall. Additionally, high concentrations of elements naturally enriched in sea water, e.g. Sr, Ba and Rb, were deposited alongside mineral dust, reflecting the oceanic origin of air influencing the site and the role of sea spray in contributing aerosol to the atmosphere. These elements experienced the greatest enrichment during rainfall, implying sea spray and pollution become relatively important during otherwise clean air conditions. AbstractAtmospheric aerosol samples were collected at a remote site in New Zealand's Southern Alps. Collected samples were found to be a mixture of New Zealand and Australian sourced sediment, using their trace element signatures. Aerosol concentrations and the relative contribution of different sources was found to be a function of specific air-mass trajectories influencing the study site, dust entrainment rates in source areas and rainfall.Results show that Australian dust is a major source of particulate matter in New Zealand, particularly in remote alpine locations; however, locally derived dust is also important. Metal pollutants, including Pb, Cu and Sn, were enriched in the samples by approximately 15 times and up to >100 times expected natural concentrations, confirming that metal pollution is a ubiquitous component of the atmosphere, even in relatively remote locations. Moreover, pollutants were highly enriched in otherwise clean air, i.e. during and following rainfall.Additionally, high concentrations of elements naturally enriched in sea water, e.g. Sr, Ba and Rb, were deposited alongside mineral dust, reflecting the oceanic origin of air influencing the site and the role of sea spray in contributing aerosol to the atmosphere. These elements experienced the greatest enrichment during rainfall, implying sea spray and pollution become relatively important during otherwise clean air conditions.2

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The Medieval Metal Industry Was the Cradle of Modern Large-Scale Atmospheric Lead Pollution in Northern Europe

Cited by 221 publications

References 33 publications

A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20<sup>th</sup> century

A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20<sup>th</sup> century

Records of the anthropogenic influence on different origin lake sediments of Latvia

Trace elements and metal pollution in aerosols at an alpine site, New Zealand: Sources, concentrations and implications

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The Medieval Metal Industry Was the Cradle of Modern Large-Scale Atmospheric Lead Pollution in Northern Europe

Cited by 221 publications

References 33 publications

A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century

A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20&lt;sup&gt;th&lt;/sup&gt; century

Records of the anthropogenic influence on different origin lake sediments of Latvia

Trace elements and metal pollution in aerosols at an alpine site, New Zealand: Sources, concentrations and implications

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A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20<sup>th</sup> century

A 1500-year multiproxy record of coastal hypoxia from the northern Baltic Sea indicates unprecedented deoxygenation over the 20<sup>th</sup> century