Thallium Pollution in Europe Over the Twentieth Century Recorded in Alpine Ice: Contributions From Coal Burning and Cement Production

Michel Legrand, J. R. McConnell, S. Preunkert, Gilles Bergametti, N. J. Chellman, Karine Desboeufs, Andreas Plach, Andreas Stohl, Sabine Eckhardt

Publications: Contribution to journalShort communicationPeer Reviewed

Abstract

Emission inventories indicate that thallium, a highly toxic metal, is emitted during coal burning and cement production. These estimates have been established only for the 1980s and 1990s but up to now they have not been compared to long-term observations. Here we used alpine ice cores to document thallium pollution over Europe since ∼1850. Ice-core thallium concentrations increased from 1890 to 1910, and decreased after 1965 to concentrations that were half 1890 levels. Comparison of ice-core trends, estimated past emissions, and state-of-the-art atmospheric aerosol transport modeling suggest that coal burning was responsible for thallium pollution in Europe, particularly from 1920 to 1965 because of high coal consumption at that time. The subsequent decline resulted from decreased coal consumption and reduced emissions following technological improvements. The ice-core data suggest that the rapid growth of cement production that took place in Europe after 1950 had a limited impact on thallium pollution.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere2022GL098688
Number of pages10
JournalGeophysical Research Letters
Volume49
Issue number13
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 16 Jul 2022

Austrian Fields of Science 2012

  • 105205 Climate change
  • 105204 Climatology
  • 105206 Meteorology

Keywords

  • thallium
  • coal burning
  • volcanic emissions
  • alpine ice core trend
  • anthropogenic source categories
  • aerosol transport modeling
  • CORE
  • ETNA
  • volcanic emission
  • VOLCANO
  • FRENCH ALPS
  • CONTAMINATION
  • TRACE-ELEMENTS
  • TRANSPORT
  • ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION
  • LEAD
  • WATER

Cite this