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Atmospheric pollution indicated by trace elements in snow from the northern slope of Cho Oyu range, Himalayas

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Abstract

Samples collected from a 0.87 m snow pit at a high altitude site in the Cho Oyu range, Himalayas were measured for V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Rb, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ba, Tl, Pb, Bi, Th, and U using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. In addition, major ions, oxygen stable isotopes, and microparticles were also measured to assist the interpretation of seasonal variation of trace elements. The trace elements show a distinct seasonality, i.e., higher concentrations during the non-monsoon season than those during the monsoon season. Significant correlation is observed between Ba and the other trace elements. Crustal enrichment factor (EFc) analysis indicates that V, Mn, Co, Ni, Rb, Sr, and Th originate mainly from crustal dust, while anthropogenic inputs make an important contribution to the other trace elements (i.e., Cu, Zn, As, Cd, Sn, Sb, Ti, Pb, Bi, and U). Evidence from air mass back trajectories suggests that atmospheric trace element pollution reaching the studied area is transported dominantly by Indian summer monsoon during the monsoon season, while it is transported mainly by the westerlies during the non-monsoon season.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to many scientists, technicians, graduates students, and porters for hard work expertly carried out in the field. The authors greatly appreciate the comments from anonymous reviewers for the improvement of this paper. This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (40825017), National Basic Research program of China (2007CB411501), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (SKLCS-ZZ-2008-06, 100 Talents Project) and the Nanjing University. In Korea, this work was supported by KOPRI research Grant (PP09010) and INHA University Research Grant (INHA-40890-01).

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  1. Shugui Hou

    Present address: School of Geographic and Oceanographic Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China

  2. Sungmin Hong

    Present address: Department of Oceanography, Inha University, 253 Yonghyun-dong, Nam-gu, Incheon, 402-751, Republic of Korea

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Yaping Liu & Shugui Hou

  2. Korea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, 406-840, Republic of Korea

    Sungmin Hong, Soon-Do Hur & Khanghyun Lee

  3. Shandong Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Yantai, 264006, China

    Yetang Wang

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  1. Yaping Liu
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Correspondence to Shugui Hou.

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Liu, Y., Hou, S., Hong, S. et al. Atmospheric pollution indicated by trace elements in snow from the northern slope of Cho Oyu range, Himalayas. Environ Earth Sci 63, 311–320 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0714-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-010-0714-0

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