Trace elements biogeochemistry in high mountain lake catchments: identifying anthropogenic versus natural components from the atmospheric contamination legacy in remote natural areas
Human activities have been interfering with the natural biogeochemical cycles of trace elements since the ancient civilizations. Although they are inaccessible and remote, high mountain lake catchments are irrefutably trace-element contaminated by anthropogenic emissions, which can travel by long-ra...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2011 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | CBUC, CESCA |
| Repositorio: | TDR. Tesis Doctorales en Red |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:www.tdx.cat:10803/32149 |
| Acceso en línea: | http://hdl.handle.net/10803/32149 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Trace elements Elements traça Elementos traza High mountain lake catchment Conques lacustres d'alta muntanya Cuencas lacustres de alta montaña Long-range contamination Contaminació de llarg abast Contaminación de largo alcance Atmospheric deposition Deposició atmosfèrica Deposición atmosférica Central Pyrenees Pirineus Centrals Pirieno Central 504 55 574 |
| Sumario: | Human activities have been interfering with the natural biogeochemical cycles of trace elements since the ancient civilizations. Although they are inaccessible and remote, high mountain lake catchments are irrefutably trace-element contaminated by anthropogenic emissions, which can travel by long-range atmospheric transport before they are deposited. This has been revealed by several natural archives. High mountain lake catchments are thus excellent sentinels of long-range contamination. Continuous accumulation can lead to a build up of potentially toxic trace elements in these remote, or relatively remote, ecosystems. The thesis focuses on the biogeochemistry of a suite of trace elements of environmental concern (Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb) in Pyrenean lake catchments, with special emphasis on discerning the “natural” components from the “anthropogenic” contributions. Five other metallic elements (Al, Fe, Ti, Mn and Zr) have also been studied to trace natural fluxes and biogeochemical processes within the lake catchment systems. |
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