Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-42gr6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T09:58:40.028Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Arsenic record from a 3 m snow pit at Dome Argus, Antarctica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 March 2016

Hua Rong ,
Hou Shugui ,
Li Yuansheng ,
Pang Hongxi ,
Paul Mayewski ,
Sharon Sneed ,
An Chunlei  and
Michael Handley
Hua Rong
Affiliation:
MOE Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Oceanography, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Hou Shugui*
Affiliation:
MOE Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Oceanography, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Science, Beijing 100101, China
Li Yuansheng
Affiliation:
Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200129, China
Pang Hongxi
Affiliation:
MOE Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Oceanography, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Paul Mayewski
Affiliation:
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA School of Earth and Climate Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
Sharon Sneed
Affiliation:
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
An Chunlei
Affiliation:
MOE Key Laboratory for Coast and Island Development, School of Geography and Oceanography, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai 200129, China
Michael Handley
Affiliation:
Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469, USA
*
*Corresponding author: shugui@nju.edu.cn
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study presents an arsenic concentration time series from 1964–2009 at Dome Argus, Antarctica. The data show a very large increase in arsenic concentration from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s (by a factor of~22) compared with the values before the mid-1980s. This increase is likely to be related to the increased copper smelting in South America. Arsenic concentration then decreased in the late-1990s, most probably as a result of environmental regulations in South America. The sudden increase in arsenic concentration observed at Dome Argus coincides with similar increases observed at Dome Fuji and in Antarctica Ice Core-6 (IC-6) at the same time, suggesting that arsenic pollution during the period from the mid-1980s to the late-1990s was a regional phenomenon in Antarctica. Investigations of arsenic concentrations at these three Antarctic locations show that, during this time, regional arsenic distribution followed dust transport pathways associated with general climate models with South America as a major source region for the half of Antarctica facing the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Keywords

Antarctic atmospheric circulationcopper productionenvironmental regulationlate 20th century pollution
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , August 2016 , pp. 305 - 312
Check for updates
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Albani, S., Mahowald, N.M., Delmonte, B., Maggi, V. & Winckler, G. 2012. Comparing modeled and observed changes in mineral dust transport and deposition to Antarctica between the Last Glacial Maximum and current climates. Climate Dynamics, 38, 10.1007/s00382-011-1139-5.Google Scholar
BGS (British Geological Survey). 1964–2012. World mineral statistics: production, exports, imports. Keyworth, Nottingham: British Geological Survey. Available at http://www.bgs.ac.uk/mineralsuk/search/home.html.Google Scholar
Caldentey, R. & Mondschein, S. 2003. Policy model for pollution control in the copper industry, including a model for the sulfuric acid market. Operations Research, 51, 10.1287/opre.51.1.1.12797.Google Scholar
Callen, M.S., Iturmendi, A., Lopez, J.M. & Mastral, A.M. 2014. Source apportionment of the carcinogenic potential of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) associated to airborne PM10 by a PMF model. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 21, 10.1007/s11356-013-2116-9.Google Scholar
Carlos, F.S. 2012. Determinação de elementos traços em testemunho de firn antártico usando espectrometria de massa. [Comparisons of technical analysis for determination of trace elements]. PhD thesis, Instituto de Geociencias, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, 134 pp. [Unpublished].Google Scholar
Cole-Dai, J., Mosley-Thompson, E. & Thompson, L.G. 1997. Quantifying the Pinatubo volcanic signal in south polar snow. Geophysical Research Letters, 24, 10.1029/97GL02734.Google Scholar
Delmonte, B., Basile-Doelsch, I., Petit, J.R., Michard, A., Revel-Rolland, M., Maggi, V. & Gemmiti, B. 2003. Refining the isotopic (Sr-Nd) signature of potential source areas for glacial dust in East Antarctica. Journal De Physique IV, 107, 10.1051/Jp4:20030317.Google Scholar
Ding, M.H., Xiao, C.D., Li, Y.S., Ren, J.W., Hou, S.G., Jin, B. & Sun, B. 2011. Spatial variability of surface mass balance along a traverse route from Zhongshan station to Dome A, Antarctica. Journal of Glaciology, 57, 658–666.Google Scholar
Gabrielli, P., Planchon, F.A.M., Hong, S.M., Lee, K.H., Do Hur, S., Barbante, C., Ferrari, C.P., Petit, J.R., Lipenkov, V.Y., Cescon, P. & Boutron, C.F. 2005. Trace elements in Vostok Antarctic ice during the last four climatic cycles. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 234, 10.1016/j.epsl.2005.03.001.Google Scholar
Gronlund, A., Nilsson, D., Koponen, I.K., Virkkula, A. & Hansson, M.E. 2002. Aerosol dry deposition measured with eddy-covariance technique at Wasa and Aboa, Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. Annals of Glaciology, 35, 10.3189/172756402781816519.Google Scholar
Hong, S., Soyol-Erdene, T.O., Hwang, H.J., Hong, S.B., Do Hur, S. & Motoyama, H. 2012. Evidence of global-scale As, Mo, Sb, and Tl atmospheric pollution in the Antarctic snow. Environmental Science & Technology, 46, 10.1021/es303086c.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hong, S.M., Barbante, C., Boutron, C., Gabrielli, P., Gaspari, V., Cescon, P., Thompson, L., Ferrari, C., Francou, B. & Maurice-Bourgoin, L. 2004. Atmospheric heavy metals in tropical South America during the past 22 000 years recorded in a high altitude ice core from Sajama, Bolivia. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 6, 10.1039/b314251e.Google Scholar
Hou, S.G., Li, Y.S., Xiao, C.D. & Ren, J.W. 2007. Recent accumulation rate at Dome A, Antarctica. Chinese Science Bulletin, 52, 10.1007/s11434-007-0041-3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hur, S.D., Cunde, X., Hong, S.M., Barbante, C., Gabrielli, P., Lee, K.Y., Boutron, C.F. & Ming, Y. 2007. Seasonal patterns of heavy metal deposition to the snow on Lambert Glacier basin, East Antarctica. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.07.012.Google Scholar
Kamiyama, K., Ageta, Y. & Fujii, Y. 1989. Atmospheric and depositional-environments traced from unique chemical-compositions of the snow over an inland high plateau, Antarctica. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 94, 10.1029/JD094iD15p18515.Google Scholar
Krinner, G., Petit, J.R. & Delmonte, B. 2010. Altitude of atmospheric tracer transport towards Antarctica in present and glacial climate. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29, 274–284.Google Scholar
Lenschow, P., Abraham, H.J., Kutzner, K., Lutz, M., Preuss, J.D. & Reichenbacher, W. 2001. Some ideas about the sources of PM10. Atmospheric Environment, 35, S23–S33.Google Scholar
Laluraj, C.M., Thamban, M. & Satheesan, K. 2013. Dust and associated trace element fluxes in a firn core from the coastal East Antarctica and its linkages with the Southern Hemisphere climate variability over the last~50 yr. Climate of the Past Discussions, 9, 10.5194/cpd-9-1841-2013.Google Scholar
Li, C.J., Kang, S.C., Shi, G.T., Huang, J., Ding, M.H., Zhang, Q.G., Zhang, L.L., Guo, J.M., Xiao, C.D., Hou, S.G., Sun, B., Qin, D.H. & Ren, J.W. 2014. Spatial and temporal variations of total mercury in Antarctic snow along the transect from Zhongshan Station to Dome A. Tellus - Chemical And Physical Meteorology, B66, 10.3402/tellusb.v66.25152.Google Scholar
Li, F., Ginoux, P. & Ramaswamy, V. 2008. Distribution, transport, and deposition of mineral dust in the Southern Ocean and Antarctica: contribution of major sources. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 113, 10.1029/2007JD009190.Google Scholar
Li, Y.H. 1991. Distribution patterns of the elements in the ocean - a synthesis. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 55, 3223–3240.Google Scholar
Liu, Y.P., Hou, S.G., Hong, S., Do Hur, S., Lee, K. & Wang, Y.T. 2011. High-resolution trace element records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan, central Asia, since 1953 AD. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 116, 10.1029/2010JD015191.Google Scholar
Ma, Y.F., Bian, L.G., Xiao, CD., Allison, I. & Zhou, X.J. 2010. Near surface climate of the traverse route from Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica. Antarctic Science, 22, 10.1017/S0954102010000209.Google Scholar
Matschullat, J. 2000. Arsenic in the geosphere – a review. Science of the Total Environment, 249, 10.1016/S0048-9697(99)00524-0.Google Scholar
Mitchell, B.R. 2007 a. International historical statistics: Africa, Asia & Oceania 1750–2005, 5th edition. International historical statistics: America 1750–2005. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1152 pp.Google Scholar
Mitchell, B.R. 2007 b. International historical statistics: the Americas 1750–2005, 6th edition. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 1120 pp.Google Scholar
Mosley-Thompson, E., Paskievitch, J.F., Gow, A.J. & Thompson, L.G. 1999. Late 20th Century increase in South Pole snow accumulation. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 104, 10.1029/1998JD200092.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nordstrom, D.K. 2002. Public health – worldwide occurrences of arsenic in ground water. Science, 296, 10.1126/science.1072375.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nriagu, J.O. 1989. A global assessment of natural sources of atmospheric trace-metals. Nature, 338, 10.1038/338047a0.Google Scholar
O’Ryan, R. & Diaz, M. 2000. Risk-cost analysis for the regulation of airborne toxic substances in a developing context: the case of arsenic in Chile. Environmental & Resource Economics, 15, 115–134.Google Scholar
Osterberg, E.C., Handley, M.J., Sneed, S.B., Mayewski, P.A. & Kreutz, K.J. 2006. Continuous ice core melter system with discrete sampling for major ion, trace element, and stable isotope analyses. Environmental Science & Technology, 40, 10.1021/es052536w.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pacyna, J.M. & Pacyna, E.G. 2001. An assessment of global and regional emissions of trace metals to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources worldwide. Environmental Reviews, 9, 10.1139/er-9-4-269.Google Scholar
Richter, P., Grino, P., Ahumada, I. & Giordano, A. 2007. Total element concentration and chemical fractionation in airborne particulate matter from Santiago, Chile. Atmospheric Environment, 41, 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2007.04.053.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Soyol-Erdene, T.O., Huh, Y., Hong, S. & Do Hur, S. 2011. A 50-year record of platinum, iridium, and rhodium in Antarctic snow: volcanic and anthropogenic sources. Environmental Science & Technology, 45, 10.1021/es2005732.Google Scholar
Sudarchikova, N., Mikolajewicz, U., Timmreck, C., O’Donnell, D., Schurgers, G., Sein, D. & Zhang, K. 2015. Modelling of mineral dust for interglacial and glacial climate conditions with a focus on Antarctica. Climate of the Past, 11, 10.5194/cp-11-765-2015.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thamban, M. & Thakur, R.C. 2013. Trace metal concentrations of surface snow from Ingrid Christensen Coast, East Antarctica-spatial variability and possible anthropogenic contributions. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 185, 10.1007/s10661-012-2764-0.Google Scholar
Toggweiler, J.R., Russell, J.L. & Carson, S.R. 2006. Mid-latitude westerlies, atmospheric CO2, and climate change during the ice age. Paleoceanography, 21, 10.1029/2005PA001154.Google Scholar
Wang, Y.T., Sodemann, H., Hou, S.G., Masson-Delmotte, V., Jouzel, J. & Pang, H.X. 2013. Snow accumulation and its moisture origin over Dome Argus, Antarctica. Climate Dynamics, 40, 10.1007/s00382-012-1398-9.Google Scholar
Wedepohl, K.H. 1995. The composition of the continental-crust. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 1217–1232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar