ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF LICHENS FROM THE INTERMOUNTAIN WESTERN USA USING PIXE

Thirty-six lichen samples that were collected from five wilderness are as and a national monument in the intermountain western United States have been analyzed by PIXE for the determination of 21 elements: P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Br, Rb, Sr, Ba, and Pb. Samples were powdered and spiked with Y as an internal standa rd. The powder was analyzed directly as a sample of moderate thickness . Elemental concentration means and ranges were generally consistent w ith concentration ranges from other studies of unimpacted lichens. Som e samples, however, had high concentrations of S, Cu, As, and a few ot her elements. There are interpretations of the data that imply some wi lderness areas are being impacted to some degree by industrial-plant a tmospheric emissions.