The Historic Built Environment As a Long-Term Geochemical Archive: Telling the Time on the Urban "Pollution Clock".

ABSTRACT: This study introduces a novel methodology for utilizing historic built environments as reliable long-term geochemical archives, addressing a gap in the reconstruction of past anthropogenic pollution levels in urban settings. For the first time, we employ high-resolution laser ablation mass spectrometry for lead isotope (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb) analysis on 350-year-old black crust stratigraphies found on historic built structures, providing insights into past air pollution signatures. Our findings reveal a gradual shift in the crust stratigraphy toward lower ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb and higher ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb isotope ratios from the older to the younger layers, indicating changes in lead sources over time. Mass bala

SUBMITTER: Wilhelm K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10448721 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature