Trace metal enrichment during the Industrial Period recorded across an altitudinal transect in the Southern Central Pyrenees

Autor: Blas L. Valero-Garcés, Mario Morellón, Carlos A. Cuevas, Rocío Millán, A. Moreno, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez, M.J. Sierra, Juan Pablo Corella, M.P. Mata
Přispěvatelé: Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (España)
Rok vydání: 2018
Předmět:
Zdroj: Digital.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
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ISSN: 0048-9697
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.160
Popis: 12 pags, 7 figs. - Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https: //doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.160.
The study of three lacustrine sedimentary archives along an altitudinal transect in the Southern Central Pyrenees - lakes Estanya, Basa and Marboré- has provided a unique record of changes in anthropogenic trace metal concentrations over the last six centuries in NE Iberian Peninsula. Although site-specific processes influence metals enrichments in each lacustrine system, significant enrichments of Hg and Pb and minor to moderate enrichments of Cu, Cd, and Zn with respect to baseline (Pre-industrial) concentrations highlight intensive release of anthropogenic trace metals with the advent of the Industrial Revolution leading to maximum values during the 20th century. The largest trace metal pollution occurred between 1840s and 1920s CE mainly derived from the increasing demand of ore resources in Southern Europe during the Industrialization. A second, less distinct pollution phase occurred between 1950s and 1990s, associated with the “Great Acceleration” and increased trace metal emissions related to road-transport, use of fertilizers in agriculture and the global boost of the Chemical Industry. Enrichment of mercury during the Industrial Period correlates well with Hg production in Spanish Almadén mines and global emission inventories. Local mining in the Pyrenees and regional smelting activities in Spain and Southern France may explain the enrichment of lead (and associated by-products cadmium and zinc) during the first pollution phase while the use of leaded gasoline since the mid-20th century drives the higher Pb enrichment factor found till the late 20th century. This investigation demonstrates that environmental regulations controlling emissions of hazardous metals during the last decades have greatly contributed to a significant reduction of these anthropogenic trace metals enrichments in natural ecosystems although they still double pre-industrial levels. This study also exemplifies the different sensitiveness of lacustrine systems to record past atmospheric pollution phases and highlights the need of multi-archive studies to conduct regional (rather than local) pollution reconstructions.
This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO) projects MEDLANT (CGL2016-76215-R) and HYVARMED (CGL2013-42645-P), the National Park Autonomous Organization (HORDA project, ref. 083/2009) and the Sobrarbe Geoparkthrough the project “Reconstrucción de la minería histórica en la Comarca del Sobrarbe y su impacto ambiental durante el Antropoceno”.J.P.C. was supported by a MINECO postdoctoral grant (ref FPDI-2013-17443) and currently holds a Juan de la Cierva–Incorporación postdoc-toral contract also fundedby MINECO (ref IJCI-2015-23839)
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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