Abstract
Through analyzing the concentrations of selected heavy metals (Ba, Mn, Pb, Sr, Zn) in the bones and teeth of wild living and ecologically equivalent ruminants from the Tian-Shan (Capra sibirica and Ovis ammon polii) and the West Carpathians (Rupicapra rupicapra tatrica) we compared the environmental pollution levels of these two mountain ranges. The samples were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence. Significantly higher contents of Zn and Mn as well as a higher frequency of measurable occurrences of Mn, Ba, and Pb in samples from the West Carpathians confirmed the results of our previous study, that the West Carpathians are relatively more polluted by heavy metals than the Tian-Shan Mountains. The most probably contamination sources are mining and smelting as well as traffic emissions, which can reach remote mountain ranges through long distance atmospheric transport.
Highlights
Anthropogenic emissions from the extended territory of the Soviet Union and China considerably influenced the concentration of heavy metals in the Northern Hemisphere [1,2,3,4]
We found significant differences in the accumulation of Mn and Zn between bone samples from the Tian-Shan mountains and from the West Carpathians
Mn pollutants in samples from the West Carpathians is likely attributable to mining and smelting, as well as road transport emissions in adjacent regions to the Tatra mountains
Summary
Anthropogenic emissions from the extended territory of the Soviet Union and China considerably influenced the concentration of heavy metals in the Northern Hemisphere [1,2,3,4]. The Tian-Shan is one of the most polluted mountain ranges in central Asia by anthropogenic sources of heavy metals [2,3,6,7,8]. When considering the data presented in the State Statistic Committee of the Kyrgyzstan Republic’s report in 2015, the volume of pollution released into the atmosphere from stationary pollution sources increased by 44 percent compared to 2011. Such a sharp increase in pollution is related to the increased use of coal by large scale heating plants due to low water periods
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