Multi-element, multi-medium regional geochemistry in the European Arctic: element concentration, variation and correlation

Abstract

A multi-medium, multi element regional geochemical survey has been carried out in an 188,000 km2 area in the Central Barents Region, Finland, Norway and Russia. Four different sample materials (terrestrial moss, O-, B- and C-horizons of podzol) were collected at the same sites throughout the area at a density of 1 site/300 km2. While moss predominantly reflects the atmospheric input of elements, the O-horizon reflects the complex interplay between atmosphere, biosphere and lithosphere. The B-horizon can be used to study the influence of soil-forming processes, while the C-horizon represents the composition of the lithosphere at each sample site and thus the geogenic background. The concentration, variation and correlation between 24 elements (Ag, Al, As, Ba, Bi, Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Si, Sr, Th, V, Zn) analysed with similar techniques in all 4 materials are compared. Some rare trace elements (Ag, As, Bi, Cd, Pb) appear to be considerably more enriched in the O-horizon of podzols than the main pollutants in the survey area (Ni, Cu, Co from the Russian nickel industry in Monchegorsk and Nikel-Zapoljarnij). Biological processes play an underestimated role in determining regional geochemistry at the earth's surface.