Comment on: “A novel approach to peatlands as archives of total cumulative spatial pollution loads from atmospheric deposition of airborne elements complementary to EMEP data: Priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg)” by Ewa Miszczak, Sebastian Stefaniak, Adam Michczyński, Eiliv Steinnes and Irena Twardowska

F. De Vleeschouwer, S. Baron, J. M. Cloy, M. Enrico, V. Ettler, N. Fagel, H. Kempter, M. Kylander, C. Li, J. Longman, A. Martinez-Cortizas, S. Marx, N. Mattielli, T. Mighall, T. M. Nieminen, N. Piotrowska, X. Pontevedra-Pombal, S. Pratte, V. Renson, W. ShotykE. Shuttleworth, J. Sikorski, N. Stromsoe, J. Talbot, C. von Scheffer, D. Weiss, C. Zaccone, G. Le Roux

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    Abstract

    A recent paper by Miszczak et al. (2020) examines metal contamination of mires in Poland and Norway. The authors conclude that lead (Pb) records in ombrotrophic peatlands cannot be used to reconstruct the chronological history of anthropogenic activities due to post-depositional mobility of the metal. We contest this general conclusion which stands in contrast with a significant body of literature demonstrating that Pb is largely immobile in the vast majority of ombrotrophic peatlands. Our aim is to reaffirm the crucial contribution that peat records have made to our knowledge of atmospheric Pb contamination. In addition, we reiterate the necessity of following established protocols to produce reliable records of anthropogenic Pb contamination in environmental archives.

    Original languageEnglish
    Article number138699
    Pages (from-to)1-5
    Number of pages5
    JournalScience of the Total Environment
    Volume737
    Early online date15 Apr 2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2020

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