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Application of lead isotopic methods to the study of the anthropogenic lead provenance in Spanish overbank floodplain deposits

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Abstract

Changes in the principal sources of Pb in overbank sediment profiles have been documented for two Spanish areas by using Pb isotopes and Pb concentrations. These locations (Madrid and Tinto–Odiel basin) represent two of the most contaminated regions in Spain. The Community of Madrid is characterized by heavy industrial and urban activity, focused mainly in Madrid City. The Tinto–Odiel basin drains the Iberian Pyrite Belt, which hosts many polymetallic massive sulphides and is heavily affected by mining activities in their headwaters. It has been proven that the influence of anthropogenic activity is reflected in these overbank deposits by variations in Pb concentrations that, in general, correlate with shifts in the 206Pb/207Pb ratio. Rivas profile (downstream of Madrid) was found to be the most anthropogenically influenced site. The sediments within this profile which were recently deposited (170 ± 40 years BP) have the least radiogenic signatures. 206Pb/207Pb ratios ranged between 1.1763 and 1.1876 indicating significant contributions of anthropogenic Pb. In contrast, profiles upstream of Madrid possess an average 206Pb/207Pb ratio of 1.2272. It is difficult to clearly identify the most prominent source as the sediments appear to be characterized by an input from several sources. The floodplain profiles in the Tinto–Odiel basin exhibit uniform 206Pb/207Pb ratios ranging from 1.1627 (Odiel river) to 1.1665 (Tinto river). These ratios are similar to the ones possessed by sulphide ores in the area and differ from the ratios of other nonmineralized formations in the basin, indicating that mining activities are the primary, if not sole, source of Pb to the sediments.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been financed by a Geological Survey of Spain (IGME) pre-doctoral fellowship. The authors would like to thank the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU), especially Rolf Tore Ottesen and Pål Gundersen as well as the Laboratory team and the Geochemistry Division for the Pb isotope analysis and the technical assistance during the corresponding author’s research stay.

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  1. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Ríos Rosas, 23, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Paula Adánez Sanjuán, Juan Locutura Rupérez & Angel Garcia Cortés

  2. Geological Survey of Norway (NGU), 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Belinda Flem

  3. E.T.S.I. Minas Madrid, Ríos Rosas, 21, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Juan F. Llamas Borrajo

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  1. Paula Adánez Sanjuán
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Adánez Sanjuán, P., Flem, B., Llamas Borrajo, J.F. et al. Application of lead isotopic methods to the study of the anthropogenic lead provenance in Spanish overbank floodplain deposits. Environ Geochem Health 38, 449–468 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-015-9732-x

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