TRACE-ELEMENT PROFILES IN OMBROGENOUS PEAT CORES FROM NORWAY - EVIDENCE OF LONG-RANGE ATMOSPHERIC TRANSPORT

Concentrations of Pb, Cd, As, Sb, and Se in peat from 21 ombrotrophic bogs in Norway are discussed with respect to air pollution and compare d to other evidence from studies of trace element deposition in Norway . In general the data support conclusions from studies of atmospheric deposition based on moss analysis, and they also confirm specific tren ds previously observed for the contamination of natural surface soils with these elements. Lead, Cd, As, and Sb all are strongly enriched in the surface peat layers, indicating significant atmospheric input all over the country. In the south the concentrations in the surface peat are about 10 times higher than in the central and northern part of th e country, supporting previous evidence of substantial input from sour ce regions in other European countries. For Se there is also a compone nt of anthropogenic input in the south, but this contribution from lon g range transport is superimposed on a very distinct coast-inland grad ient all along the west coast, strongly suggesting atmospheric supply of Se from the marine environment.