Western Tasmania - a reconstructed history of wide-spread aerial pollution in a formerly "pristine" area - the use of 210Pb & 226Ra in retrospective monitoring of the environment

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dc.contributor.authorHeijnis, Hen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHarle, KJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorHarrison, JJen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2021-06-10T06:28:16Zen_AU
dc.date.available2021-06-10T06:28:16Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2004-10-24en_AU
dc.date.statistics2021-03-18en_AU
dc.description.abstractUsing nuclear dating techniques and trace metal analysis of sediment cores an environmental history of Western Tasmania was reconstructed. Seven sites were selected to encompass a range of environments from highly human impacted to relatively pristine. They include subalpine tarns and coastal lowland lakes. Disturbed areas have been impacted by activities associated with logging, mining and colonial settlement while the near-pristine sites were located in areas with little disturbance, such as the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Lead-210 (210Pb) and radium-226 (226Ra), both naturally occurring radioisotopes, were used to determine sediment accumulation rates and establish chronologies. Sediment cores collected from near pristine lakes were expected to reveal low and relatively constant trace metal concentrations consistent with areas subject to little to no human impact. However, evidence from these sediment cores revealed trace metal concentrations peaked in the 1960s and then began to decrease in the 1980s. This trend was also discovered, to a greater extent, in sediment cores collected from human impacted sites particularly those surrounding the Central Western mining area. Of all the metals investigated, lead (Pb), arsenic (As), tin (Sn) and copper (Cu) were found to show the most marked increases. Temporal increases in metal concentrations were found to be a result of mining activities in Central Western Tasmania. Evidence for the most significant increase as shown by the trace metal profile coincided with the escalation of open cut mining while decreases in metal concentrations around 1980 coincided with the cessation of mining. Spatially, the dispersal was predominantly due to aerial pollution as concentrations of Pb, As, Sn and Cu were highest close to the mining areas although sites as far as 150 kilometres away showed marked metal concentration increases above background levels around 1960.en_AU
dc.identifier.booktitleBook of extended synopsesen_AU
dc.identifier.citationHeijnis, H., Harle, K. J., & Harrison, J. (2004). Western Tasmania - a reconstructed history of wide-spread aerial pollution in a formerly "pristine" area - the use of 210Pb & 226Ra in retrospective monitoring of the environment. Paper presented to International Conference on Isotopes in Environmental Studies – Aquatic Forum 2004 Monte-Carlo, Monaco 25–29 October 2004. In Book of extended synopses. Retrieved from https://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/36/003/36003223.pdf?r=1#page=5&zoom=auto,-15,800en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceenddate29 October 2004en_AU
dc.identifier.conferencenameIsotopes in Environmental Studies Aquatic Forum 2004en_AU
dc.identifier.conferenceplaceMonacoen_AU
dc.identifier.conferencestartdate25 October 2004en_AU
dc.identifier.placeofpublicationVienna, Austriaen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://inis.iaea.org/collection/NCLCollectionStore/_Public/36/003/36003223.pdf?r=1#page=5&zoom=auto,-15,800en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/10861en_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherInternational Atomic Energy Agencyen_AU
dc.subjectTasmaniaen_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmenten_AU
dc.subjectEnvironmental impactsen_AU
dc.subjectEnvironment protectionen_AU
dc.subjectLakesen_AU
dc.subjectMiningen_AU
dc.subjectForestryen_AU
dc.subjectArsenicen_AU
dc.subjectCopperen_AU
dc.subjectTinen_AU
dc.subjectPollutionen_AU
dc.titleWestern Tasmania - a reconstructed history of wide-spread aerial pollution in a formerly "pristine" area - the use of 210Pb & 226Ra in retrospective monitoring of the environmenten_AU
dc.typeConference Abstracten_AU
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