Abstract
Metal contents (Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Ti, and Zn) have been measured in 30 surface soils on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica, yielding values (in milligrams kilogram−1) of 41.57–80.65 (Zn), 2.76–60.52 (Pb), 0.04–0.34 (Cd), 7.18–25.03 (Ni), 43,255–70,534 (Fe), 449–1,401 (Mn), 17.10–64.90 (Cr), 1,440–25,684 (Mg), 10,941–49,354 (Ca), 51.10–176.50 (Cu), 4,388–12,707 (Ti), 28,038–83,849 (Al), and for Hg (in nanograms gram−1) 0.01–0.06. Relative cumulative frequency analysis was used to determine the baseline values for the 13 metals. Compared with adjacent areas in Antarctica, Mg and Ni are significantly lower, but Cu is significantly higher than that of McMurdo Station. Enrichment factor analysis and the geo-accumulation index method were applied in order to determine the extent of anthropogenic contamination, and both show that Pb, Cd, and Hg have been significantly increased by human activities. Principal component analysis was used to identify the sources of metals in these soil samples.
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Acknowledgments
We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration, State Oceanic Administration of China. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40776003) and the Ocean Public Welfare Scientific Research Project, State Oceanic Administration of the People’s Republic of China (No. 200805095).
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Lu, Z., Cai, M., Wang, J. et al. Baseline values for metals in soils on Fildes Peninsula, King George Island, Antarctica: the extent of anthropogenic pollution. Environ Monit Assess 184, 7013–7021 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2476-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2476-x