Abstract
High mountain areas are an appropriate indicator of anthropogenic lead (Pb), which can reach remote mountain ranges through long distance atmospheric transport. We compared the content of Pb in ecologically equivalent rodent species from Tian-Shan with European mountain ranges including the Tatra, Vitosha and Rila mountains. We used bone tissues from terminal tail vertebrae of small rodents for detection of Pb levels through electro-thermal atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS). The tailbones of Tian-Shan rodents had significantly lower Pb levels than snow voles from the Tatra Mountains, but there was no significant difference in comparison with the Vitosha and Rila mountains. We can conclude that Tian-Shan shows lower pollution by Pb than the Tatras, which may be a result of prolonged industrialization of north-western Europe and strongly prevailing west winds in this region.
Highlights
Atmospheric lead (Pb) fluctuations are dominated by anthropogenic sources
Many studies have shown that Tian-Shan is one of the mountain ranges in central Asia with the largest anthropogenic sources of heavy metals [4,5,6,7,8]
The highest values seem to be from National Park Ala Archa, located not far from Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan (Table 1)
Summary
Atmospheric lead (Pb) fluctuations are dominated by anthropogenic sources. Even in areas far removed from industrial emission sources, Pb concentrations in the surface soil layers are far above their natural concentration range [1]. Anthropogenic Pb could reach more remote high mountains through long distance atmospheric transport [2]. Many studies have shown that Tian-Shan is one of the mountain ranges in central Asia with the largest anthropogenic sources of heavy metals [4,5,6,7,8]. Cd and Cu concentrations from the Inilchek ice core (central Tian-Shan) reflect declines during the 1980s concurrent with Soviet economic declines, due to the rapid industrial and agricultural growth of western China, Pb, Cd and Cu trends increased during the
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call