Historical trends in the lead isotopic composition of archival Sphagnum mosses from Scotland (1838-2000)

The analysis of almost 200 Scottish Sphagnum moss samples collected over the past 170 years has revealed trends in the isotopic composition of lead similar to those previously established for dated Scottish lake sediments and peat bogs, lending credibility to these proxy records of atmospheric lead contamination and deposition. The effect of temporal variations in contributions from sources such as smelting of indigenous lead ores (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.16-1.18), coal combustion (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.17-1.19), and the use of imported Australian lead (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.04) was clearly seen in the Scottish moss 206Pb/207Pb record. This showed some differences from the corresponding archival herbage record for the south of England, where the initial influence of Australian lead occurred earlier, at the end of the 19th century. A significant decline from a 206Pb/ 207Pb value of approximately 1.17 in the Scottish moss record began in the 1920s and continued until the 1980s (206Pb/207Pb approximately 1.12). The success of measures to reduce lead emissions to the atmosphere over the past 20 years in the U.K., in particular from petrol-engined vehicles using alkyl lead additives manufactured primarily from Australian lead, is evident in both the increasing 206Pb/207Pb ratio and falling lead concentration data for Scottish moss.