Deposition at Dome Fuji, Antarctica since the 1950s

Abstract

Worldwide production of PGEs has been rising steadily over the past few decades because of the increased use of these metals, such as in catalysts, jewelry, and electronics. Here, we present the first time series for PGE (Pt, Ir, and Rh) deposition in Antarctica and determined the changes in the global background atmospheric level over a recent 50-year period based on determinations of Pt, Ir, and Rh in snow samples collected from Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. The 50-year average PGE concentrations in Antarctic snow were 17 fg g&#8211;1 (4.7&#8211;76 fg g&#8211;1) for Pt, 0.12 fg g&#8211;1 (<0.05&#8211;0.34 fg g&#8211;1) for Ir, and 0.71 fg g&#8211;1 (0.12&#8211;8.8 fg g&#8211;1) for Rh. The concentration peaks for Pt, Ir, and Rh were observed at depths corresponding to volcanic eruption periods, indicating that PGEs can be used as a good tracer of volcanic activity in the past. A significant increase in concentrations and crustal enrichment factors for Pt and a slight enhancement in enrichment factors for Rh were observed after the 1980s. This suggests that there has been large-scale atmospheric pollution for Pt and probably for Rh since the 1980s, which may be attributed to the increasing emissions of these metals from anthropogenic sources such as automobile catalysts and metal production processes.) deposition in Antarctica and determined the changes in the global background atmospheric level over a recent 50-year period based on determinations of Pt, Ir, and Rh in snow samples collected from Queen Maud Land, East Antarctica. The 50-year average PGE concentrations in Antarctic snow were 17 fg g&#8211;1 (4.7&#8211;76 fg g&#8211;1) for Pt, 0.12 fg g&#8211;1 (<0.05&#8211;0.34 fg g&#8211;1) for Ir, and 0.71 fg g&#8211;1 (0.12&#8211;8.8 fg g&#8211;1) for Rh. The concentration peaks for Pt, Ir, and Rh were observed at depths corresponding to volcanic eruption periods, indicating that PGEs can be used as a good tracer of volcan