Post 17th-Century Changes of European PAH Emissions Recorded in High-Altitude Alpine Snow and Ice

• Published in: Environmental Science & Technology
• Main Authors: Gabrieli, J., Vallelonga, P., Cozzi, G., Gabrielli, P., Gambaro, A., Sigl, M., Decet, F., Schwikowski, M., Gggeler, H., Boutron, C., Cescon, P., Barbante, C.
• Other Authors: Environmental Sciences Department, University of Ca’ Foscari Venice, Italy, Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto (ARPAV), Environmental Protection Agency of Veneto, Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bern, Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (OCCR), CHANG (CHANG), Laboratoire d'étude des transferts en hydrologie et environnement (LTHE), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Department of Environmental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca = University of Milano-Bicocca (UNIMIB), European Project:
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Major Point; ice core
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00562406; https://doi.org/10.1021/es903365s

International audience The occurrence of organic pollutants in European Alpine snow/ice has been reconstructed over the past three centuries using a new online extraction method for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) followed by liquid chromatographic determination. The meltwater flow from a continuous ice core melting system was split into two aliquots, with one aliquot directed to an inductively coupled plasma quadrupole mass spectrometer for continuous trace elements determinations and the second introduced into a solid phase C18 (SPE) cartridge for semicontinuous PAH extraction. The depth resolution for PAH extractions ranged from 40 to 70 cm, and corresponds to 0.7−5 years per sample. The concentrations of 11 PAH were determined in dated snow/ice samples to reconstruct the atmospheric concentration of these compounds in Europe for the last 300 years. The PAH pattern is dominated by phenanthrene (Phe), fluoranthene (Fla), and pyrene (Pyr), which represent 60−80% of the total PAH mass. Before 1875 the sum of PAH concentration (ΣPAH) was very low with total mean concentrations less than 2 ng/kg and 0.08 ng/kg for the heavier compounds (ΣPAH*, more than four aromatic rings). During the first phase of the industrial revolution (1770−1830) the PAH deposition showed a weak increase which became much greater from the start of the second phase of the industrial revolution at the end of 19th Century. In the 1920s, economic recession in Europe decreased PAH emissions until the 1930s when they increased again and reached a maximum concentration of 32 ng/kg from 1945 to 1955. From 1955 to 1975 the PAH concentrations decreased significantly, reflecting improvements in emission controls especially from major point sources, while from 1975 to 2003 they rose to levels equivalent to those in 1910. The Fla/(Fla+Pyr) ratio is often used for source assignment and here indicates an increase in the relative contribution of gasoline and diesel combustion with respect to coal and wood burning from 1860 to the 1980s. This ...