Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations
Analysis of the Greenland ice core covering the period from 3000 to 500 years ago—the Greek, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance times—shows that lead is present at concentrations four times as great as natural values from about 2500 to 1700 years ago (500 B.C. to 300 A.D.). These results show that Gree...
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American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
1994
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 |
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craaas:10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 2024-06-23T07:53:12+00:00 Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations Hong, Sungmin Candelone, Jean-Pierre Patterson, Clair C. Boutron, Claude F. 1994 http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 en eng American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Science volume 265, issue 5180, page 1841-1843 ISSN 0036-8075 1095-9203 journal-article 1994 craaas https://doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 2024-06-13T04:01:29Z Analysis of the Greenland ice core covering the period from 3000 to 500 years ago—the Greek, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance times—shows that lead is present at concentrations four times as great as natural values from about 2500 to 1700 years ago (500 B.C. to 300 A.D.). These results show that Greek and Roman lead and silver mining and smelting activities polluted the middle troposphere of the Northern Hemisphere on a hemispheric scale two millennia ago, long before the Industrial Revolution. Cumulative lead fallout to the Greenland Ice Sheet during these eight centuries was as high as 15 percent of that caused by the massive use of lead alkyl additives in gasoline since the 1930s. Pronounced lead pollution is also observed during Medieval and Renaissance times. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland Greenland ice core ice core Ice Sheet AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Greenland Science 265 5180 1841 1843 |
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Open Polar |
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AAAS Resource Center (American Association for the Advancement of Science) |
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craaas |
language |
English |
description |
Analysis of the Greenland ice core covering the period from 3000 to 500 years ago—the Greek, Roman, Medieval and Renaissance times—shows that lead is present at concentrations four times as great as natural values from about 2500 to 1700 years ago (500 B.C. to 300 A.D.). These results show that Greek and Roman lead and silver mining and smelting activities polluted the middle troposphere of the Northern Hemisphere on a hemispheric scale two millennia ago, long before the Industrial Revolution. Cumulative lead fallout to the Greenland Ice Sheet during these eight centuries was as high as 15 percent of that caused by the massive use of lead alkyl additives in gasoline since the 1930s. Pronounced lead pollution is also observed during Medieval and Renaissance times. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Hong, Sungmin Candelone, Jean-Pierre Patterson, Clair C. Boutron, Claude F. |
spellingShingle |
Hong, Sungmin Candelone, Jean-Pierre Patterson, Clair C. Boutron, Claude F. Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations |
author_facet |
Hong, Sungmin Candelone, Jean-Pierre Patterson, Clair C. Boutron, Claude F. |
author_sort |
Hong, Sungmin |
title |
Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations |
title_short |
Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations |
title_full |
Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations |
title_fullStr |
Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations |
title_full_unstemmed |
Greenland Ice Evidence of Hemispheric Lead Pollution Two Millennia Ago by Greek and Roman Civilizations |
title_sort |
greenland ice evidence of hemispheric lead pollution two millennia ago by greek and roman civilizations |
publisher |
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) |
publishDate |
1994 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland Greenland ice core ice core Ice Sheet |
genre_facet |
Greenland Greenland ice core ice core Ice Sheet |
op_source |
Science volume 265, issue 5180, page 1841-1843 ISSN 0036-8075 1095-9203 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.265.5180.1841 |
container_title |
Science |
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265 |
container_issue |
5180 |
container_start_page |
1841 |
op_container_end_page |
1843 |
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1802644746871504896 |