Novel Pb Isotope Record Tracks Changes in Pb Pollution in Alaska from 340 to 2022 CE
Hanna Brooks, Michael Handley, Dominic Winski, Karl Kreutz, Kimberley Miner,
Jacob Chaliff, Erich Osterberg
*With support from: Inga Kindstedt, Emma Erwin, Scott Braddock, and Liam Kirkpatrick
University of Maine; Dartmouth College; NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory; University of Washington
Global winds transport particles from Asia to Alaska
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Long term changes in emission occur due to changes in culture, legislation, and technology.
Koffman et al., 2022
Koffman et al., 2022
Long term changes in emission occur due to changes in culture, legislation, and technology.
The project builds off previous work to examine the emerging story of the pollution deposited in the North Pacific from Asia.
Our dataset of 1,171 samples spans ~1,700 years of natural and anthropogenic variability.
Pb concentration data from across the North Pacific all record a rise post-1920.
Pb isotopes are distinctly different from other global regions.
Comparing the Pb ratio and concentration records
Preliminary takeaways:
- The data shows unique trends, distinct from other global regions and other North Pacific sampling sites
- This is the only dataset extending through the 2020s -- allowing for examination of changes through the Covid-19 pandemic.
- Large spikes in the data may reflect major dust storms or volcanic events.
Acknowledgements and Funding Sources
The Denali Ice Cores were recovered near the summit of Begguya, within the traditional homelands of six sovereign nations who have occupied the region for thousands of years before our study.
This work is funded by NSF (AGS-2002483; AGS-1806422; OPP-2002470), the UMaine GSG, and the Maine Space Grant Fellowship program.
Field Photos courtesy of Dom Winski.
