This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Williams, T.M. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

A sedimentary record of the deposition of heavy metals and magnetic oxides in the Loch Dee basin, Galloway, Scotland, since c. AD 1500

British Geological Survey, Applied Geochemistry Unit, Keyworth, Nottingham, UK

Geochemical analyses of a ²¹⁰Pb dated piston core from Loch Dee have highlighted trends of increased Pb and Cu deposition within the catchment as early as AD 1500, probably as a consequence of local mining and smelting activity. More marked atmospheric pollutant deposition appears to have occurred in association with European industrialization after c. 1840, causing a conspicuous enhancement of Pb, Zn, Cu and magnetically detectable Fe oxide concentrations in the uppermost 8 cm of sediment. The co-variability of these contaminants through the surficial sediment suggests that they emanate from a common industrial process and the presence of magnetic oxides in cenospheric particulates implicates thermal power generation plant as a principal pollutant source. This interpretation is further supported by the temporal comparability of trace metal/magnetic oxide influxes at Loch Dee and documented records regarding European fossil fuel combustion levels over the past 150 years. The reduced heavy metal concentrations recorded in sediments deposited during the last decade may accurately chronicle falling deposition during this period, but could also reflect an increase in the efficiency with which metals have been leached from the surficial sediment as the surface waters have acidified. The accordance between the post-industrial record of sedimentary pollutant incorpora tion at Loch Dee and temporal adjustments to the diatom flora of several Galloway lochs is consistent with claims that recent acidification in the region has been a direct response to hydrocarbon-derived atmospheric deposition.

Key Words: sediment geochemistry • late Holocene • heavy metals • atmospheric pollution • Pb • Zn • Cu • Fe.

The Holocene, Vol. 1, No. 2, 142-150 (1991)
DOI: 10.1177/095968369100100206


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?