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Airborne Pollution in Five Drainage Basins in Eastern Finnmark, Norway: an Evaluation of Overbank Sediments as Sampling Medium for Environmental Studies and Geochemical Mapping

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Abstract

To study whether airborne pollution can be detected in overbank sediments, samples collected from five overbank sediment profiles in eastern Finnmark, Norway, at 1 cm depth intervals, were subjected to chemical analysis and 210Pb dating. The studied drainage basins constitute parts of an area polluted by emissions from two Ni-Cu smelters in Russia. In the most polluted catchment area, the surface sample showed a 5-fold higher Ni concentration and a 3-fold higher Cu concentration than the pre-industrial sediments at depth. The increases started at the same time as the smelters. Slight Ni increases were also detected in the neighbouring drainage basin, while no significant concentration change was seen in drainage basins previously shown to be only weakly influenced by the smelter emissions. In the most polluted drainage basin, the increase in Ni accumulation rate did not equal the airborne deposition rate. Selective surface erosion of fine grained particles with adhering airborne Ni has probably caused excess Ni accumulation in both overbank and lake sediments. On the contrary, opening of minerogenic point sources may dilute the pollutant concentrations in the drainage sediments. Thus, dating of the sediment profiles is necessary to determine the airborne pollutant accumulation rates. However, dating is not necessary to map the resultant concentration increase, that may show the increased exposure of humans and biota in contact with the sediments.

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  1. Marianne Langedal & Rolf Tore Ottesen

    Present address: Department of Environment, City of Trondheim, N-7005, Trondheim, Norway

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Mineral Resources Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, N-7034, Trondheim, Norway

    Marianne Langedal

  2. Geological Survey of Norway, PO Box 3006, N-7004, Trondheim, Norway

    Rolf Tore Ottesen

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  1. Marianne Langedal
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Langedal, M., Ottesen, R.T. Airborne Pollution in Five Drainage Basins in Eastern Finnmark, Norway: an Evaluation of Overbank Sediments as Sampling Medium for Environmental Studies and Geochemical Mapping. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 101, 377–398 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004954229477

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