| Title | Holocene Pb isotope evolution; the record of the anthropogenic activity in the last 6,000 years |
| Author | de Paula, A.H.; Geraldes, M.C. |
| Author Affil | de Paula, A.H., Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Faculdade de Geologia, Brazil |
| Source | Terrae (Impresso), 2(1-2), p.55-60, . Publisher: Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias, Campinas, Brazil. ISSN: 1679-2270 |
| Publication Date | 2005 |
| Notes | In English. 22 refs. GeoRef Acc. No: 284765 |
| Index Terms | Antarctica; North America; Spain--Rio Tinto; South America; aerosols; Andalusia Spain; Cenozoic; chemical composition; coal; Europe; gasoline; geochemistry; Holocene; Huelva Spain; human activity; Iberian Peninsula; ice; industrial waste; isotope ratios; isotopes; lead; medical geology; metals; mines; paleoenvironment; Pb-206; Pb- 207; Pb-207/Pb-206; petroleum products; pollution; Quaternary; Rio Tinto Spain; Roman period; sedimentary rocks; sediments; soils; Southern Europe; Spain; stable isotopes; suspended materials; upper Holocene; waste disposal; water |
| Abstract | The objective of this contribution is to build a Pb isotope standard curve during the last 6,000 years based on reported data worldwide. The history of Pb isotope signature has been investigated by analyzing the isotope composition of Pb in suspended particulate matter (aerosols), sediments, water, ice and soil. The 206Pb/207Pb natural background values are about 1.199 between 12,000 and 2,600 years, as observed in sediments (Europe and North America) and ice caps (Europe and Antarctica). The depression of the 206Pb/207Pb values at about 2,500 years (1.176 to 1.184) may be explained due to an intensive mining activity during the time of the Roman Empire. During the Medieval period (1,700-1,200 years ago) 206Pb/207Pb values increased whereas, at the same time, the worldwide Pb production decreased after the fall of Rome, and the values of 206Pb/207Pb recorded in sediments are about 1.176. The Pb isotope curves in sediments and ice caps for the industrial revolution period recorded in Europe, North America and Antarctica present different patterns. In general way, the Pb isotope curve for the last 200 years records the initial period of industrialization, when coal was the main source of energy (206Pb/207Pb values about 1.125), followed by the Pb-enriched gasoline (206Pb/207Pb values about 1.190-1.195), and as last period, occurred after the fall in the use of gasoline Pb additives (206Pb/207Pb values about 1.240). |
| Publication Type | journal article |
| Record ID | 84145 |