ATMOSPHERIC LEAD DEPOSITION IN AN OMBROTROPHIC PEAT BOG OF SOUTHERN
POLAND
Barbara Fiałkiewicz-Kozieł1*, Francois De Vleeschouwer2,7, Beata Smieja-Król3, Natalia
Piotrowska4, Bernard Palowski1, Piotr Kołaczek5, Nadine Mattielli6, Nathalie Fagel7
1. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University
of Silesia, ul. Bankowa9, 40-007 Katowice, Poland (*basiaf1234@poczta.fm).
2. Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, Umeå University, SE-901 87
Umeå, Sweden.
3. Institute of Mineralogy, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, ul.
Będzińska 60, 41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland.
4. Department of Radioisotopes, GADAM Centre of Excellence, Institute of Physics,
Silesian University of Technology, Krzywoustego 2, 44-100 Gliwice, Poland.
5. Department of Paleobotany, Institute of Botany, Jagiellonian University, ul.Lubicz
46, 31-512 Cracow, Poland.
6. Unité de recherche: "Isotopes : Pétrologie et Environnement", Département des
Sciences de la Terre et de l'Environnement, CP 160/02, Université Libre de
Bruxelles, Avenue FD. Roosevelt 50, 1050 Bruxelles, Belgium
7. Department of Geology, AGEs Argiles, Géochimie et Environnements sédimentaires,
Université de Liège, Allée du 6 août, B18, 4000 Liège, Belgium
Lead concentrations and isotopes were measured in 1.30m-core from the
ombrotrophic peat bog of Puścizna Mała (Southern Poland); Our aim is to
differentiate lead anthropogenic vs. natural sources and to reconstruct the history of
lead pollution in Southern Poland. Total lead concentrations were measured by
Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Sspectrometry (ICP-AES) after HFHNO3-HCl digestion (UŚL, Katowice). Stable lead isotopes were measured by MultiCollector Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) (ULB,
Brussels). Results were compared with mineralogical fraction of the peat samples and
with rock isotopic data from the literature. A detailed age model was constructed
using both 210Pb and 14C measurements, further refined by comparison with pollen
diagrams from the same bog.
The main results show a record of ca. 1800 years of variations in lead
concentration and isotopic compositions. In the lower part of the core (Vth to VIth
century AD), the 206Pb/207Pb ratio averages 1.192, reflecting that the Pb supply to the
bog mainly originated from natural sources (i.e. erosion). Then, from the IXth to the
XVIIth century AD, the 206Pb/207Pb ratio ranges from 1.176 to 1.179, which is in good
agreement with Polish galena and coal from Eastern countries. A dramatic increase in
lead accumulation rates is then observed in the upper part of the core. Peaking during
the 1920-1930’s, it may reflect the higher metal demand for the armament industry,
the influence of coal combustion and the latter use of leaded gasoline.