Fractionation of Chemical Elements in the Atmosphere of Western Siberia: Evidence from an Ombrotrophic Peat Bog

摘要

The study of fluxes of material from atmosphere (hereafter, atmospheric dust) onto the Earth's surface became particularly intense in the second half of the 20th century. In addition to direct quantitative determinations of atmospheric dust fluxes onto the water surface and soil cover, investigations of the dynamics of their variations over geological time as recorded in the composition of stratified deposits (marine and lacustrine bottom sediments, snow cover, and polar ice) were also carried out. In particular, researchers from Tomsk consider ombrotrophic peat bogs to be natural laboratories providing information on temporal variations of atmospheric dust flux. Indeed, ombrotrophic peat bogs, which lack a supply of underground or surface waters, represent a very suitable object for retrospective geochemical monitoring. This has been successfully illustrated for an ombrotrophic peat bog in Switzerland.