A 1500-year record of lead, copper, arsenic, cadmium, zinc level in Antarctic seal hairs and sediments

Sci Total Environ. 2006 Dec 1;371(1-3):252-7. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2006.07.022. Epub 2006 Aug 22.

Abstract

To reconstruct the profiles of heavy metal levels in the South Ocean ecosystem of Antarctica, the concentrations of lead (Pb), copper (Cu), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and zinc (Zn) in seal hairs and lake sediments spanning the past 1500 years from Fildes Peninsula of King George Island and in weathering lake sediments from Nelson Island of West Antarctica were determined. The lead contents in the seal hairs and the weathering sediments show a sharp increase since the late 1800s, very likely due to anthropogenic contamination from modern industries. After the 1980s, the Pb content in seal hairs dropped by one-third, apparently due to the reduced usage of leaded gasoline in the Southern Hemisphere. Copper arises mainly from the weathering process, and its level may be substantially affected by climatic conditions. The concentrations of Cd, As, and Zn do not show any clear temporal trends.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Antarctic Regions
  • Cadmium / analysis
  • Cadmium / pharmacokinetics
  • Copper / analysis
  • Copper / pharmacokinetics
  • Environmental Monitoring / methods*
  • Feces / chemistry
  • Geologic Sediments / chemistry*
  • Hair / chemistry*
  • Lead / analysis
  • Lead / pharmacokinetics
  • Metals, Heavy / analysis*
  • Metals, Heavy / pharmacokinetics
  • Seals, Earless / metabolism*
  • Time Factors
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical / pharmacokinetics
  • Zinc / analysis
  • Zinc / pharmacokinetics

Substances

  • Metals, Heavy
  • Water Pollutants, Chemical
  • Cadmium
  • Lead
  • Copper
  • Zinc