Transient Pb Isotopic Signatures in the Western European Atmosphere

F.E. Grousset , C.R. Quétel , B. Thomas , P. Buat-Ménard , Olivier François Xavier Donard (1) , A. Bucher

1 IPREM - Institut des sciences analytiques et de physico-chimie pour l'environnement et les materiaux

The progressive phasing-out of lead from gasoline has resulted in a significant decrease in the global atmospheric lead burden over the last 20 years. Here we show that in Europe this change in lead concentration–determined by the analysis of aerosols–is accompanied by a systematic change in lead isotopic compositions and that there was a significant reversal in this trend during the 1970s. Such changes in isotopic signatures over time have been accurately documented in North America. We observe that European and North American records display opposite trends in isotopic composition, thus providing a powerful tool for assessing the response time of the North Atlantic environment and its surrounding continents to transient lead inputs. This database could help to better constrain the time scale of coastal and upper ocean mixing processes and of particle transport to marine sediments. © 1994, American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.

Domaines: Chimie analytique

F.E. Grousset, C.R. Quétel, B. Thomas, P. Buat-Ménard, Olivier François Xavier Donard, et al.. Transient Pb Isotopic Signatures in the Western European Atmosphere. Environmental Science and Technology, 1994, 28 (9), pp.1605-1608. ⟨10.1021/es00058a011⟩. ⟨hal-01590145⟩