H2020Индивидуална стипендия2016–2018

SOUTHERNCHANGE · Accumulation rates and predominant atmospheric sources of natural and anthropogenic trace elements on the Falkland Islands

„Хоризонт 2020“ — Действия „Мария Склодовска-Кюри“

Период: 2016-10-10 → 2018-10-09
Финансиране от ЕС: 195 455 €
Участници: 1
Схема: MSCA-IF-EF-ST

Линиите свързват координатора с партньорите.

Накратко на български

Натрупването на естествени и човешки елементи, като желязо и олово, се проследява чрез торфяници на Фолкландските острови. Това помага да се разбере влиянието на замърсителите от Южна Америка и нефтените проучвания върху здравето на морската екосистема.

Този кратък обзор е генериран от изкуствен интелект

Кратко обяснение, генерирано от езиков модел по текста на CORDIS. Оригиналът е по-долу.

Резултати накратко

Accumulation rates and predominant atmospheric sources of natural and anthropogenic trace elements on the Falkland Islands

Atmospheric deposition derived from long-range transport is a key process supplying essential (e.g. Fe, Zn, Cu) and toxic (e.g. Pb, As) trace elements to remote ecosystems such as ocean islands or open oceans. Any present or future change in atmospheric deposition rates can be only understood in the context of natural variations and controls derived from geological archives such as peat bogs and their record of natural and anthropogenic inputs. While atmospheric deposition of trace elements in the Northern Hemisphere is relatively well understood during the Holocene, our knowledge regarding past atmospheric deposition in the southern South Atlantic Ocean region is very limited due to the lack of high quality records. Quantifying atmospheric element deposition in the western South Atlantic Ocean is of key importance to the sustainable development of the Falkland Islands as increasing emissions of toxic metals stemming from the economic development of South America and from planned oil exploration may pose a significant threat to the marine ecosystem health. The aim of the SOUTHERNCHANGE project was to improve our understanding of the atmospheric cycling of dust and trace elements in the Falkland Islands (FI) as representative of the western Southern Atlantic Ocean (wSAO). The objectives of the project were (i) to characterise the chemical and isotopic composition of natural aerosols deposited in the wSAO and the FI during the Holocene, (ii) to reconstruct the natural atmospheric deposition rates during the Holocene, (iii) to identify the main sources of the natural atmospheric input of dust and trace metals critical to marine and terrestrial ecosystem dynamics and environmental health in the wSAO and the FI and (iv) to assess the extent of human impact (via local activities or via long range transport) on current atmospheric trace element accumulation in the Falkland Islands.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз

Цел на проекта

“SOUTHERNCHANGE” aims to improve our understanding of the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements and mineral dust in the western Southern Atlantic Ocean (SAO). We will establish the to date first high-resolution record of past and present atmospheric deposition fluxes for the Falkland Islands covering the entire Holocene (12 ky to date).This is achieved studying the geochemistry of peat bog, lichens and aerosols and characterizing their elemental concentrations, radiogenic isotope ratios and mineralogy.First, we will quantify the atmospheric deposition fluxes of trace elements and dust and their temporal variations and we will identify natural (i.e. mineral dust, volcanic emissions) and anthropogenic (i.e. fossil fuel combustion, mining, smelting) sources and controls. This will enable us to date the start of atmospheric pollution reaching the western SAO via long-range transport from anthropogenic emissions from South America, Southern Africa or Australia. We will furthermore determine present day atmospheric fluxes using lichens and aerosols collected with an active sampler. These will be compared with the natural background (chemical and isotopic composition, fluxes) as determined from the peat record and this will enable us to determine the present day relative contribution of local vs distant sources and natural vs anthropogenic sources.The outcome of this project will quantitatively constrain the atmospheric deposition fluxes within the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements and dust within the western SAO. Knowing the chemical and isotopic composition of natural atmospheric deposition will enable us to understand present and future changes of elemental concentrations in the region of the Falklands and the western SAO due to human activities such as hydrocarbon exploration or emissions from emerging economies in the Southern Hemisphere. This work will provide a unique reference and baseline data for future environmental and climatic studies in the SAO.

Оригинален текст от CORDIS (на английски).

Участници

IMPERIAL COLLEGE OF SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE · LondonКоординаторОбединеното кралство