Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals
Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003. Environmental Science Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-120) Lichens are excellent biomonitors. This study was undertaken to develop and refine a partial digestion procedure for lichen, suitable for ICP-MS analysis of trace ele...
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ftmemorialunivdc:oai:collections.mun.ca:theses4/120272 2023-05-15T17:23:33+02:00 Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals Tucker, Jocelyn Ann. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Faculty of Science; 2003 xviii, 225 leaves : ill., maps. Image/jpeg; Application/pdf http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/120272 Eng eng Electronic Theses and Dissertations (25.74 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Tucker_Jocelyn.pdf a3315424 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/120272 The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries Lichens--Analysis--Methodology Heavy metals--Measurement Environmental monitoring--Methodology Trace elements--Analysis Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Text 2003 ftmemorialunivdc 2015-08-06T19:22:24Z Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003. Environmental Science Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-120) Lichens are excellent biomonitors. This study was undertaken to develop and refine a partial digestion procedure for lichen, suitable for ICP-MS analysis of trace elements, for the purpose of environmental monitoring. The developed digestion method consisted of a series of alternating dry and wet ashings utilizing nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Acceptable ICP-MS data were obtained for the following suite of elements: Mg, P, Ca, Mn, Co, Zn, Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Fe, Cu, Rb, Cd, Sb, Cs, and Ce. The application of the procedure to lichens from different sites indicated that sites could be distinguished by their trace element concentrations; the elements with differences included elements of environmental interest such as V, Zn, and Cu. The concentrations determined by this research for Newfoundland lichens were generally much lower than those reported by other researchers. The digestion procedure was also applied to different lichen species (Alectoria sarmentosa, Bryoria sp., and Cladonia alpestris) collected at the same site. It was found that different species yielded different trace element information, thus direct comparisons cannot necessarily be made. Digestion residues were examined by SEM-EDX to determine general compositions. The majority of these residual particles had a high silicon content, with varying amounts of other elements, particularly aluminum and potassium; these minerals were silicates, likely to be quartz, feldspars, olivines, garnets, micas, and/or clay minerals. Differences in concentration (as determined by ICP-MS) were observed in lichen samples collected from the same site in consecutive years. Some elements displayed differences between ICP-MS Runs, likely due to sample inhomogeneity. Other researchers have found that elemental concentrations can differ between species, that some elements (e.g. Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn) have higher concentrations in more polluted areas, and that the levels of some anthropogenic pollutants decrease with distance from the source; each of these points support the findings of this study. Text Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) Alectoria ENVELOPE(-58.640,-58.640,-63.977,-63.977) |
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Memorial University of Newfoundland: Digital Archives Initiative (DAI) |
op_collection_id |
ftmemorialunivdc |
language |
English |
topic |
Lichens--Analysis--Methodology Heavy metals--Measurement Environmental monitoring--Methodology Trace elements--Analysis Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry |
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Lichens--Analysis--Methodology Heavy metals--Measurement Environmental monitoring--Methodology Trace elements--Analysis Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Tucker, Jocelyn Ann. Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
topic_facet |
Lichens--Analysis--Methodology Heavy metals--Measurement Environmental monitoring--Methodology Trace elements--Analysis Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry |
description |
Thesis (M.Sc.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2003. Environmental Science Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-120) Lichens are excellent biomonitors. This study was undertaken to develop and refine a partial digestion procedure for lichen, suitable for ICP-MS analysis of trace elements, for the purpose of environmental monitoring. The developed digestion method consisted of a series of alternating dry and wet ashings utilizing nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide. Acceptable ICP-MS data were obtained for the following suite of elements: Mg, P, Ca, Mn, Co, Zn, Sr, Ba, V, Cr, Fe, Cu, Rb, Cd, Sb, Cs, and Ce. The application of the procedure to lichens from different sites indicated that sites could be distinguished by their trace element concentrations; the elements with differences included elements of environmental interest such as V, Zn, and Cu. The concentrations determined by this research for Newfoundland lichens were generally much lower than those reported by other researchers. The digestion procedure was also applied to different lichen species (Alectoria sarmentosa, Bryoria sp., and Cladonia alpestris) collected at the same site. It was found that different species yielded different trace element information, thus direct comparisons cannot necessarily be made. Digestion residues were examined by SEM-EDX to determine general compositions. The majority of these residual particles had a high silicon content, with varying amounts of other elements, particularly aluminum and potassium; these minerals were silicates, likely to be quartz, feldspars, olivines, garnets, micas, and/or clay minerals. Differences in concentration (as determined by ICP-MS) were observed in lichen samples collected from the same site in consecutive years. Some elements displayed differences between ICP-MS Runs, likely due to sample inhomogeneity. Other researchers have found that elemental concentrations can differ between species, that some elements (e.g. Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn) have higher concentrations in more polluted areas, and that the levels of some anthropogenic pollutants decrease with distance from the source; each of these points support the findings of this study. |
author2 |
Memorial University of Newfoundland. Faculty of Science; |
format |
Text |
author |
Tucker, Jocelyn Ann. |
author_facet |
Tucker, Jocelyn Ann. |
author_sort |
Tucker, Jocelyn Ann. |
title |
Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
title_short |
Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
title_full |
Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
title_fullStr |
Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
title_full_unstemmed |
Digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by ICP-MS, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
title_sort |
digestion of epiphytic lichens for analysis by icp-ms, as applied to monitoring atmospheric heavy metals |
publishDate |
2003 |
url |
http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/120272 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-58.640,-58.640,-63.977,-63.977) |
geographic |
Alectoria |
geographic_facet |
Alectoria |
genre |
Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland studies University of Newfoundland |
op_source |
Paper copy kept in the Centre for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial University Libraries |
op_relation |
Electronic Theses and Dissertations (25.74 MB) -- http://collections.mun.ca/PDFs/theses/Tucker_Jocelyn.pdf a3315424 http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/ref/collection/theses4/id/120272 |
op_rights |
The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. |
_version_ |
1766113310123491328 |