Welcome to the new version of CaltechAUTHORS. Login is currently restricted to library staff. If you notice any issues, please email coda@library.caltech.edu
Published February 1984 | public
Journal Article

Stable isotopic ratios of lead in surface waters of the central Pacific

Abstract

The geographic variation in the isotopic composition of lead in surface waters of the central Pacific provides new evidence of the global anthropogenic perturbation of the element's cycle. Ratios of ^(206)Pb/^(207)Pb decrease from 1.196 in the northern hemisphere (19°N, 158°W) to 1.176 in the southern hemisphere (15°S, 150°W). This decrease parallels the geographic variation in surface concentrations of soluble lead which decrease from 13 ng kg^(−1) at the northern station to 4 ng kg^(−1) at the southern station. Both the ^(206)Pb/^(207)Pb and the 206Pb/208Pb ratios of those waters fit between the isotopic ratios of Australian (Broken Hill) and North American (Mississippi Valley) leads which are the predominant sources of leads in anthropogenic emissions to the Pacific Ocean basin.

Additional Information

© 1984 Elsevier Science Publishers B.V., Amsterdam. Received July 12, 1983; revision accepted October 17, 1983. This research was supported by National Science Foundation grants OCE 8113211 and OCE-8309392, Marine Chemistry Division of Ocean Sciences.

Additional details

Created:
August 19, 2023
Modified:
October 17, 2023