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Decline of anthropogenic lead in South Atlantic Ocean surface waters from 1990 to 2011: New constraints from concentration and isotope data

Olivelli, Arianna; Murphy, Katy; Bridgestock, Luke; Wilson, David J; Rijkenberg, Micha; Middag, Rob; Weiss, Dominik J; ... Rehkämper, Mark; + view all (2023) Decline of anthropogenic lead in South Atlantic Ocean surface waters from 1990 to 2011: New constraints from concentration and isotope data. Marine Pollution Bulletin , 189 , Article 114798. 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114798. Green open access

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Abstract

Anthropogenic emissions have severely perturbed the marine biogeochemical cycle of lead (Pb). Here, we present new Pb concentration and isotope data for surface seawater from GEOTRACES section GA02, sampled in the western South Atlantic in 2011. The South Atlantic is divided into three hydrographic zones: equatorial (0–20°S), subtropical (20–40°S), and subantarctic (40–60°S). The equatorial zone is dominated by previously deposited Pb transported by surface currents. The subtropical zone largely reflects anthropogenic Pb emissions from South America, whilst the subantarctic zone presents a mixture of South American anthropogenic Pb and natural Pb from Patagonian dust. The mean Pb concentration of 16.7 ± 3.8 pmol/kg is 34 % lower than in the 1990s, mostly driven by changes in the subtropical zone, with the fraction of natural Pb increasing from 24 % to 36 % between 1996 and 2011. Although anthropogenic Pb remains predominant, these findings demonstrate the effectiveness of policies that banned leaded gasoline.

Type: Article
Title: Decline of anthropogenic lead in South Atlantic Ocean surface waters from 1990 to 2011: New constraints from concentration and isotope data
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114798
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2023.114798
Language: English
Additional information: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Lead, Isotopic composition, Seawater, Pollution, GEOTRACES
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Maths and Physical Sciences > Dept of Earth Sciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10166402
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