OMBROTROPHIC FEAT BOGS AS MONITORS OF TRENDS IN ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION OF POLLUTANTS - ROLE OF NEUTRON-ACTIVATION ANALYSIS IN STUDIES OF PEAT SAMPLES

Ombrotrophic peat bogs, which are quite common in temperate regions, r eceive chemical compounds only from the atmosphere. These bogs are the refore well suited to study temporal and spatial trends of air polluta nts such as heavy metals, provided that the substances concerned are s ufficiently strongly retained in the peat. In this paper, the use of i nstrumental and radiochemical neutron activation analysis to study tra ce elements in ombrotrophic pear is described. This work has provided very useful information with respect to the impact of long range atmos pheric transport of pollutants to different parts of Norway, and has a lso been shown to be a useful tool in the study of natural trace eleme nt cycling processes. Elements discussed in particular are Zn, Se, Sb, and Br.