Pb isotopes in surficial pelagic sediments from the North Atlantic

The concentration of Pb and its isotopic composition were measured in samples from the surface of sea-water sediments obtained from the northeastern Atlantic, the Sargasso Sea, and the U.S. continental shelf, with the purpose of investigating changes in Pb sources due to the anthropogenic perturbation that took place in modern times. It was found that the anthropogenic Pb input to marine sediments due to the increase of Pb contamination over the ocean during the last century could be identified in all these samples. However, samples from eastern and western Atlantic had very different Pb isotopic profiles, each reflecting the character of anthropogenic Pb emissions from the European and U.S. industries, respectively.