Abstract
The aim of this work is to gain an overview of the inorganic pollution situation of the Skagerrak.
A large part of the anthropogenic produced inorganic pollutants reaches the North Sea through the European river systems. Due to the current patterns within the North Sea, almost the entire fine load fraction of North Sea water is accumulated in the Skagerrak. Due to this and the low bioturbation there this region is very well suited to gain an overview of the pollution situation of the North Sea with various contaminants.
Multi-Element Fingerprints and isotope analyses of Sr and Pb have been obtained from the sediment cores, which are observed after the depth, using ICP-MS/MS and MC ICP-MS
In the multi-element fingerprints of the four sediment cores from the two sites environmentally relevant, mostly toxic elements were considered. The Cu mass fractions lie within the geogenic limits defined by the BSH and the OSPAR, while those of Cd, Cr and Zn are slightly above these limits. The As, Ni and Pb mass fractions exceed the defined limit values. There are no defined geogenic limit values for the elements Al, Ag, Ba, Fe, Li, Sr, Ti, Th, U and the Rare Earth Elements. The mass proportions of these elements against the depth show interesting courses with partly obvious anthropogenic influences.
The isotope system analyses of Sr showed that the samples have a continental origin and that the sources of the fine load introduced into the Skagerrak have not changed significantly over the investigation period. The isotope systems of Pb can clearly demonstrate the use of Pb-containing petrol in Europe.
