Records of atmospheric delivery of pyrolysis-derived pollutants in recent mountain lake sediments of the Julian Alps (NW Slovenia)

Abstract

The historical record of the input of pyrolysis-derived pollutants via the atmosphere, i.e. black carbon (BC), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP) was measured in the sediments of three remote alpine lakes situated in the Julian Alps, northwest Slovenia. Parallel sedimentary trends for BC, PAH and SCP were observed across the Julian Alps and relationships among these contaminants are discussed. Inputs of these pyrolytic-contaminants to sediments of remote lakes started to rise at the end of the 19th century, while their peak inputs were observed in the mid-20th century, amounting up to 6.0 g m −2 yr −1 for BC, 5200 × 10 4 m −2 yr −1 for SCP and 2900 μg m −2 yr −1 for PAH. In the last two to three decades, inputs decreased substantially, by a factor of up to 3 for BC, 7 for SCP and at least 3 for PAH.