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- Yafa, C., et al.
(författare)
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Development of an ombrotrophic peat bog (low ash) reference material for the determination of elemental concentrations
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Environmental Monitoring. - : Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). - 1464-0325 .- 1464-0333. ; 6:493, s. 501-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Given the increasing interest in using peat bogs as archives of atmospheric metal deposition, the lack of validated sample preparation methods and suitable certified reference materials has hindered not only the quality assurance of the generated analytical data but also the interpretation and comparison of peat core metal profiles from different laboratories in the international community. Reference materials play an important role in the evaluation of the accuracy of analytical results and are essential parts of good laboratory practice. An ombrotrophic peat bog reference material has been developed by 14 laboratories from nine countries in an inter-laboratory comparison between February and October 2002. The material has been characterised for both acid-extractable and total concentrations of a range of elements, including Al, As, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, Ti, V and Zn. The steps involved in the production of the reference material (i.e. collection and preparation, homogeneity and stability studies, and certification) are described in detail.
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- Yttri, K. E., et al.
(författare)
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Carbonaceous aerosols in Norwegian urban areas
- 2009
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Ingår i: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - 1680-7316 .- 1680-7324. ; 9:6, s. 2007-2020
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Little is known regarding levels and source strength of carbonaceous aerosols in Scandinavia. In the present study, ambient aerosol (PM10 and PM2.5) concentrations of elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), water-insoluble organic carbon (WINSOC), and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) are reported for a curbside site, an urban background site, and a suburban site in Norway in order to investigate their spatial and seasonal variations. Aerosol filter samples were collected using tandem filter sampling to correct for the positive sampling artefact introduced by volatile and semivolatile OC. Analyses were performed using the thermal optical transmission (TOT) instrument from Sunset Lab Inc., which corrects for charring during analysis. Finally, we estimated the relative contribution of OC from wood burning based on the samples content of levoglucosan. Levels of EC varied by more than one order of magnitude between sites, likely due to the higher impact of vehicular traffic at the curbside and the urban background sites. In winter, the level of particulate organic carbon (OCp) at the suburban site was equal to (for PM10) or even higher (for PM2.5) than the levels observed at the curbside and the urban background sites. This finding was attributed to the impact of residential wood burning at the suburban site in winter, which was confirmed by a high mean concentration of levoglucosan (407 ng m(-3)). This finding indicates that exposure to primary combustion derived OCp could be equally high in residential areas as in a city center. It is demonstrated that OCp from wood burning (OCwood) accounted for almost all OCp at the suburban site in winter, allowing a new estimate of the ratio TCp/levoglucosan for both PM10 and PM2.5. Particulate carbonaceous material (PCM=Organic matter+Elemental matter) accounted for 46-83% of PM10 at the sites studied, thus being the major fraction.
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- Harmens, H, et al.
(författare)
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Heavy metal concentrations in European mosses: 2000/2001 survey
- 2004
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Ingår i: Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0167-7764 .- 1573-0662. ; 49:1-3, s. 425-436
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The heavy metals in mosses survey was originally established in 1980 as a joint Danish-Swedish initiative under the leadership of Angstromke Ruhling, Sweden and has, since then, been repeated at five-yearly intervals with an increasing number of countries and individuals participating. Twenty-eight European countries, almost 7000 sites and about 100 individuals have been involved in the most recent survey in 2000/2001. The survey provides data on concentrations of 10 heavy metals (arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, iron, lead, mercury, nickel, vanadium, zinc) in naturally growing mosses throughout Europe. The technique of moss analysis provides a surrogate measure of the spatial patterns of heavy metal deposition from the atmosphere to terrestrial systems, and is easier and cheaper than conventional precipitation analysis. The aims of the survey are to determine patterns of variation in the heavy metal concentration of mosses across Europe, identify the main polluted areas, produce regional maps and further develop the understanding of long-range transboundary pollution. As in previous surveys, there was an east/west decrease in heavy metal concentrations in mosses, related in particular to industrial emissions. Former industrial sites and historic mines accounted for the location of some high concentrations in areas without contemporary industries. Long-range transboundary transport appears to account for elevated concentrations of heavy metals in areas without emission sources, such as lead in southern Scandinavia (presumably from emission sources elsewhere in Europe).
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- Steinnes, E, et al.
(författare)
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Quantification of pollutant lead in forest soils
- 2005
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Ingår i: Soil Science Society of America Journal. - : Wiley. - 0361-5995 .- 1435-0661. ; 69, s. 1399-1404
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Fifteen podzolic forest soils in Norway covering sites with a wide range of atmospheric deposition rates were assayed for their contents of pollutant Ph. Samples from the Of, Oh, E, B, and C horizons were studied. Nitric acid soluble contents of Ph and the corresponding stable Ph isotope ratios were determined by sector field inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). On the basis of existing knowledge on Pb-206/Pb-207 ratios in atmospheric deposition over Norway across time, the percentage of the Ph supplied by air pollution was calculated for the various samples and soil horizons, assuming that the C horizon was undisturbed. More than 90% of O horizon Ph was from pollution, even at remote sites in the far north. Significant fractions of Ph were pollution-derived also in the E and B horizons at most sites. In the south, more than half of the Ph derived from air pollution has now moved to the upper mineral horizons. Stable Ph isotope ratios are a very precise tool for revealing Ph pollution in terrestrial ecosystems. The present work suggests that similar studies should be done in other parts of the world to objectively assess the anthropogenic contribution to surface soil Ph.
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