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Updated: Sep 19, 2025

Removal of Exogenous Materials from the Outer Portion of Frozen Cores to Investigate the Ancient Biological Communities Harbored Inside
Published on: July 3, 2016
Legacy lead and fallout radionuclides recorded in high Arctic proglacial sediment
Yulu Xue1, Yaguang Nie2, Liqiang Xu3
1Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
Abstract:
Legacy contaminants that have accumulated on glaciers may be released with global warming, but their secondary release and environmental fate are largely unknown. Here, we analyzed radionuclides, lead (Pb) and its isotopes, and other chemical parameters in a proglacial sediment core from the Midtre Lovénbreen glacial foreland, Svalbard, high Arctic, to examine the potential migration of pollutants during glacial retreat. The 15-20 cm sediment unit showed simultaneous enrichment of TOC, TN, 210Pb, 137Cs, and Pb, which may be influenced by cryoconite. Enrichment factor calculations indicated significant enrichment of Pb, especially in the cryoconite-influenced sediment unit, suggesting remobilization of legacy Pb from the glacier. A Bayesian Pb isotope mixing model showed that long-range atmospheric transport and cryoconite contributed an average of 41.8 % and 9.7 % of Pb in the entire sediment profile, respectively. Closer attention to the proglacial environment is needed to assess future risks from the glacial systems.
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