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Lake Sediment Records of Preindustrial Metal Pollution

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Book cover Environmental Contaminants

Part of the book series: Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research ((DPER,volume 18))

Abstract

The extraction of mineral resources has been occurring for millennia in both the Old and New Worlds. Lake sediments can archive the environmental legacy of these preindustrial activities, offering an independent method for understanding the magnitude and spatial extent of metal pollution through time. A number of geochemical records of past metal pollution within lake sediments have now been completed across especially Europe and the South American Andes, revealing histories of metal pollution that extend back over millennia. The use of paleolimnological techniques is refining our understanding of spatial and temporal differences in mineral resource extractions and use, and offers the opportunity to understand the degree to which human activities have mobilized metals from geologic stores into the biosphere.

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Acknowledgments

C.A. Cooke extends a special thank you to Drs. Mark Abbott and Alexander Wolfe for their support during the preparation of this manuscript and for supporting many years of research in the Andes. We also wish to thank three reviewers and the editors who substantially improved an earlier draft.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alberta Environmental Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting Agency, Suite 111, Twin Atria Building, 4999 - 98, T6B 2X3, Avenue Edmonton, AB, Canada

    Colin A. Cooke

  2. Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    Richard Bindler

Authors
  1. Colin A. Cooke
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  2. Richard Bindler
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Colin A. Cooke .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

    Jules M. Blais

  2. US Geological Survey, Carson City, Nevada, USA

    Michael R. Rosen

  3. Paleoecological Environmental Assessment & Research Lab. (PEARL), Queen's University Dept. Biology, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

    John P. Smol

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Cooke, C., Bindler, R. (2015). Lake Sediment Records of Preindustrial Metal Pollution. In: Blais, J., Rosen, M., Smol, J. (eds) Environmental Contaminants. Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research, vol 18. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9541-8_6

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