Ombrotrophic peat bogs as monitors of trends in atmospheric deposition of pollutants: Role of neutron activation analysis in studies of peat samples

Abstract

Ombrotrophic peat bogs, which are quite common in temperate regions, receive chemical compounds only from the atmosphere. These bogs are therefore well suited to study temporal and spatial trends of air pollutants such as heavy metals, provided that the substances concerned are sufficiently strongly retained in the peat. In this paper, the use of instrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analysis to study trace elements in ombrotrophic peat is described. This work has provided very useful information with respect to the impact of long range atmospheric transport of pollutants to different parts of Norway, and has also been shown to be a useful tool in the study of natural trace element cycling processes. Elements discussed in particular are Zn, Se, Sb, and Br.