Project: Collaborative Research: GEOTRACES Arctic section: Spatial variability of lead concentrations and isotopic compositions in the western Arctic basins

NSF Award Abstract:
In this project, investigators participating in the 2015 U.S. GEOTRACES Arctic expedition will measure lead concentrations and isotopic compositions in seawater, snow, and aerosol samples collected in the western Arctic Ocean. In common with other national initiatives in the International GEOTRACES Program, the goals of the U.S. Arctic expedition are to identify processes and quantify fluxes that control the distributions of key trace elements and isotopes in the ocean, and to establish the sensitivity of these distributions to changing environmental conditions. Some trace elements are essential to life, others are known biological toxins, and still others are important because they can be used as tracers of a variety of physical, chemical, and biological processes in the sea. Lead is an important substance to measure because it is a toxic trace element, ranked 2nd in the US Agency for Toxic Substances Disease Registry, and can be utilized as a tracer of ocean processes. The study will provide for the training and support of graduate and postdoctoral researchers.

Lead (Pb) is emitted into the atmosphere by high temperature industrial activities and leaded gasoline consumption and is globally dispersed by the atmosphere. High concentrations of Pb have been observed in Arctic ice cores and aerosols, and there are significant concerns about Pb, mercury, and other toxic trace elements in Arctic ecosystems. However, there remain significant questions about how these toxic trace elements and their isotopes currently exist in the Arctic, as well as how they will change in the future Arctic as a result of retreating summer sea ice and extensive drilling, mining, and industrialization. This proposal is aimed at remedying this deficiency in scientific knowledge by measuring Pb and Pb isotopes from seawater profiles, sea ice/seawater interface, snow and aerosols that will be collected during the U.S. GEOTRACES western Arctic transect. Specifically, researchers will gain knowledge on 1) the penetration of anthropogenic lead into the Arctic Ocean, 2) the primary sources of lead to surface waters, 3) the distributions of lead and their relation to scavenging processes and rates, 4) how the exchange with sinking particles contributes to lead?s distribution, and 5) ocean circulation in the Arctic using lead as a tracer. Results from the study will have important implications for human health by increasing understanding of the distribution and abundance of a toxic trace element.