Regional versus local influences on lead and cadmium loading to the Great Lakes region

Yohn, Sharon S.; Long, David T.; Fett, Joel D.; Patino, L. C.

doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2004.01.013

“…Group 2 is further subdivided into Group 2a, a set of analytes known to be highly enriched in the Great Lakes (Cd, Pb, Sn, Zn, and Sb;Robbins, 1980;Yuan, 2017). Group 2a elements are also all atmospheric and specifically enriched due to smelting of Pb and Cu (Crecel & Johnson, 1974;Warren, 1981;Galloway et al, 1982;Christensen & Osuna, 1989;Biegalski & Hopke, 2004;Yohn et al, 2004;Shotyk, Krachler & Chen, 2005;Norton et al, 2007;Ettler et al, 2010).  Group 3 analytes are mostly common crustal elements with sources such as soil dust, runoff, and coastal erosion.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #1 of "Anthropocene geochemistry of metals in sediment cores from the Laurentian Great Lakes (v0.1)"

2020

0

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Geochemical analyses applied to lake sedimentary records can reveal the history of pollution by metals and the effects of remedial efforts. Lakes provide ideal environments for geochemical studies because they have steady deposition of fine grained material suitable for fixation of pollutants. The Laurentian Great Lakes are the most studied system in this field, and they have well-preserved chronological profiles. To date, this important system has been considered in parts for inorganic geochemistry, hampering basin-wide conclusions regarding metal contamination. We filled spatial and temporal gaps in a comprehensive geochemical analysis of 11 sediment cores collected from all five Great Lakes. Hierarchical cluster analysis of all Great Lakes samples divided the metal analytes into five functional groups: (1) carbonate elements; (2) metals and oxides with diverse natural sources, including a subgroup of analytes known to be anthropogenically enriched (Cd, Pb, Sn, Zn, and Sb); (3) common crustal elements; (4) metals related to coal and nuclear power generation; and (5) all of the co-occurring rare earth elements. Two contamination indices (I geo and EF) applied to sedimentary metals indicated that Na, Co, Mn, Cd, Pb, Ta, and Cu were each, at some point during the Anthropocene, the most enriched metal pollutants in Great Lakes sediments. Land uses correlated with the metal analytes, such as increases in contaminant metals with the rise in catchment population and increases in carbonate elements (e.g. Ca) with agriculture. Certain contamination trends were observed basin-wide, such as for the atmospheric pollutant Pb, which followed a rise associated with fossil fuel combustion and a decline following the ban of leaded gasoline. Other trends were lake-specific, such as recent high concentrations of Na in Lake Superior, likely due to road salt applications, and a late-20 th-century peak in Ca associated with algal whiting events in Lake Ontario. Some metals exceeded guidelines for sediment quality, in some cases prior to European settlement of the basin, indicating that a paleolimnological context is important for appropriate management of sediment contamination. The Great Lakes are sensitive to environmental changes such as pollution

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“…However, in the Sandusky Bay of Lake Erie, Yuan (2017) found only a 36% reduction from 1970 to 2010. Yohn et al (2004) found that anthropogenic loading from the 1930s to the 1970s was mainly driven by regional sources such as leaded gasoline and since the 1970s has been much more closely correlated to local population density. This was attributed to legacy pollution and Pb cycling, since Pb does not degrade in the sediments.…”

Section: Leadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Metallic elements and oxides and their relevance to Laurentian Great Lakes geochemistry

Aliff¹,

Reavie²,

Post³

et al. 2020

PeerJ

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The Laurentian Great Lakes are the most studied system in lake geochemistry and have well-preserved chronological profiles. Metals play numerous critical roles in natural and anthropogenic characteristics of lake ecosystems, so patterns in the historical records of metals from sedimentary cores provide important information about environmental baselines and human impacts. Relevant studies of Great Lakes geochemistry are listed, and we follow with encyclopedic descriptions of metals and their oxides in the lakes. These descriptions include likely natural and anthropogenic sources of elements, their known history from previous paleoecological studies, and their status as potential contaminants of concern. Despite the well-studied geology of the Great Lakes catchment, sourcing elements was sometimes difficult due to materials often being moved long distances by glaciation and the global prevalence of atmospheric pollutants. We summarized available information on metals and their roles as geochemical indicators in the Great Lakes.

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“…However, in the Sandusky Bay of Lake Erie, found only a 36% reduction from to 2010. Yohn et al (2004) found that anthropogenic loading from the 1930s to the 1970s was mainly driven by regional sources such as leaded gasoline and since the 1970s has been much more closely correlated to local population density. This was attributed to legacy pollution and Pb cycling, since Pb does not degrade in the sediments.…”

Section: Leadmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #1 of "Metallic elements and oxides and their relevance to Laurentian Great Lakes geochemistry (v0.1)"

2020

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Laurentian Great Lakes are the most studied system in lake geochemistry and have well-preserved chronological profiles. Metals play numerous critical roles in natural and anthropogenic characteristics of lake ecosystems, so patterns in the historical records of metals from sedimentary cores provide important information about environmental baselines and human impacts. Relevant studies of Great Lakes geochemistry are listed, and we follow with encyclopedic descriptions of metals and their oxides in the lakes. These descriptions include likely natural and anthropogenic sources of elements, their known history from previous paleoecological studies, and their status as potential contaminants of concern. Despite the well-studied geology of the Great Lakes catchment, sourcing elements was sometimes difficult due to materials often being moved long distances by glaciation and the global prevalence of atmospheric pollutants. We summarized available information on metals and their roles as geochemical indicators in the Great Lakes.

show abstract

Regional versus local influences on lead and cadmium loading to the Great Lakes region

Cited by 22 publications

References 42 publications

Peer Review #1 of "Anthropocene geochemistry of metals in sediment cores from the Laurentian Great Lakes (v0.1)"

Peer Review #1 of "Anthropocene geochemistry of metals in sediment cores from the Laurentian Great Lakes (v0.1)"

Metallic elements and oxides and their relevance to Laurentian Great Lakes geochemistry

Peer Review #1 of "Metallic elements and oxides and their relevance to Laurentian Great Lakes geochemistry (v0.1)"

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