Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives
During the past two centuries metal loads in the Earth's atmosphere and ecosystems have increased significantly over pre-industrial levels. This has been associated with deleterious effects to ecosystem processes and human health. The magnitude of this toxic metal burden, as well as the spatial...
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ftunivwollongong:oai:ro.uow.edu.au:smhpapers-4796 2023-05-15T13:58:42+02:00 Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives Marx, Samuel K Rashid, Shaqer Stromsoe, Nicola 2016-01-01T08:00:00Z application/pdf https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3773 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4796&context=smhpapers unknown Research Online https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3773 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4796&context=smhpapers Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A contamination reconstructed global natural scale archives patterns anthropogenic pb Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences article 2016 ftunivwollongong 2020-02-25T11:26:28Z During the past two centuries metal loads in the Earth's atmosphere and ecosystems have increased significantly over pre-industrial levels. This has been associated with deleterious effects to ecosystem processes and human health. The magnitude of this toxic metal burden, as well as the spatial and temporal patterns of metal enrichment, is recorded in sedimentary archives across the globe. This paper presents a compilation of selected Pb contamination records from lakes (n = 10), peat mires (n = 10) and ice fields (n = 7) from Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and the Northern and Southern Hemisphere polar regions. These records quantify changes in Pb enrichment in remote from source environments. The presence of anthropogenic Pb in the environment has a long history, extending as far back as the early to mid-Holocene in North America, Europe and East Asia. However, results show that Pb contamination in the Earth's environment became globally ubiquitous at the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution (c.1850-1890 CE), after which the magnitude of Pb contamination increased significantly. This date therefore serves as an effective global marker for the onset of the Anthropocene. Current global average Pb enrichment rates are between 6 and 35 times background, however Pb contamination loads are spatially variable. For example, they are >100 times background in Europe and North America and 5-15 times background in Antarctica. Despite a recent decline in Pb loads in some regions, most notably Europe and North America, anthropogenic Pb remains highly enriched and universally present in global ecosystems, while concentrations are increasing in some regions (Australia, Asia and parts of South America and Antarctica). There is, however, a paucity of Pb enrichment records outside of Europe, which limits assessments of global contamination. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctica University of Wollongong, Australia: Research Online |
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Open Polar |
collection |
University of Wollongong, Australia: Research Online |
op_collection_id |
ftunivwollongong |
language |
unknown |
topic |
contamination reconstructed global natural scale archives patterns anthropogenic pb Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences |
spellingShingle |
contamination reconstructed global natural scale archives patterns anthropogenic pb Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences Marx, Samuel K Rashid, Shaqer Stromsoe, Nicola Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
topic_facet |
contamination reconstructed global natural scale archives patterns anthropogenic pb Medicine and Health Sciences Social and Behavioral Sciences |
description |
During the past two centuries metal loads in the Earth's atmosphere and ecosystems have increased significantly over pre-industrial levels. This has been associated with deleterious effects to ecosystem processes and human health. The magnitude of this toxic metal burden, as well as the spatial and temporal patterns of metal enrichment, is recorded in sedimentary archives across the globe. This paper presents a compilation of selected Pb contamination records from lakes (n = 10), peat mires (n = 10) and ice fields (n = 7) from Europe, North and South America, Asia, Australia and the Northern and Southern Hemisphere polar regions. These records quantify changes in Pb enrichment in remote from source environments. The presence of anthropogenic Pb in the environment has a long history, extending as far back as the early to mid-Holocene in North America, Europe and East Asia. However, results show that Pb contamination in the Earth's environment became globally ubiquitous at the beginning of the Second Industrial Revolution (c.1850-1890 CE), after which the magnitude of Pb contamination increased significantly. This date therefore serves as an effective global marker for the onset of the Anthropocene. Current global average Pb enrichment rates are between 6 and 35 times background, however Pb contamination loads are spatially variable. For example, they are >100 times background in Europe and North America and 5-15 times background in Antarctica. Despite a recent decline in Pb loads in some regions, most notably Europe and North America, anthropogenic Pb remains highly enriched and universally present in global ecosystems, while concentrations are increasing in some regions (Australia, Asia and parts of South America and Antarctica). There is, however, a paucity of Pb enrichment records outside of Europe, which limits assessments of global contamination. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Marx, Samuel K Rashid, Shaqer Stromsoe, Nicola |
author_facet |
Marx, Samuel K Rashid, Shaqer Stromsoe, Nicola |
author_sort |
Marx, Samuel K |
title |
Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
title_short |
Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
title_full |
Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
title_fullStr |
Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
title_full_unstemmed |
Global-scale patterns in anthropogenic Pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
title_sort |
global-scale patterns in anthropogenic pb contamination reconstructed from natural archives |
publisher |
Research Online |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3773 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4796&context=smhpapers |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctica |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctica |
op_source |
Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A |
op_relation |
https://ro.uow.edu.au/smhpapers/3773 https://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4796&context=smhpapers |
_version_ |
1766267050139844608 |