First evidence of industrial fly-ash in an Antarctic ice core
Elizabeth R. Thomas, Dieter Tetzner, Sarah Roberts, Simon Turner, Neil L. Rose
Abstract
Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) are a component of fly-ash, the particulate by-product of industrial high temperature combustion of fuel-oil and coal-series fuels. We provide the first evidence that these indelible markers of industrialisation have been deposited in Antarctic ice, thousands of kilometres from any potential source. The earliest observed particle was deposited in an ice layer from 1936 CE. While depositional fluxes are low, chemical analysis of individual SCPs indicates a coal combustion origin.
Topics & Concepts
Ice coreFly ashCombustionCoalParticulatesEnvironmental scienceSedimentary depositional environmentParticle (ecology)Coal combustion productsWaste managementGeologyChemistryOceanographyEngineeringPaleontologyOrganic chemistryStructural basinAtmospheric and Environmental Gas DynamicsAtmospheric chemistry and aerosolsPolar Research and Ecology