A RECONSTRUCTION OF CHANGES IN COPPER PRODUCTION AND COPPER EMISSIONSTO THE ATMOSPHERE DURING THE PAST 7000 YEARS

World copper (Cu) production has changed remarkably during the past 70 00 years in parallel with the growth and decline of civilizations. Dur ing the Roman period ( similar to 250 B.C.-A.D. 350), Cu mining and sm elting activities were very vigorous in order to supply Cu needed for monetary base-metal. The total amount produced in the Roman World is e stimated to similar to 4-5 million tonnes, which gives an average prod uction rate of similar to 7000 tonnes/year with a maximum of similar t o 15 000 tonnes/year 2 millennia ago. World Cu production declined aft er the fall of the Roman Empire. It rose again during the Sung dynasty of China (A.D. 960-1279), with a peak of similar to 14 000 tonnes/yea r in the 1080s. At the onset of the Industrial Revolution world Cu pro duction was similar to 10 000 tonnes/year. It then increased strongly to present day values of similar to 9 million tonnes/year. Cu emission s to the atmosphere related to this production varied considerably bec ause of large changes in production technologies. During the Antiquity , emission factors were probably as high as similar to 15% because of uncontrolled and wasteful smelting procedures. These factors remained essentially unchanged until the Industrial Revolution. They then sharp ly decreased to similar to 1%, at the beginning of the 20th century an d similar to 0.25% at present. Cumulative emissions of Cu to the atmos phere are estimated to similar to 600 000 tonnes during the Roman peri od, which is as much as similar to 50% of Cu emitted during the 20th c entury. From the beginning of Cu production similar to 7000 years ago to the Industrial Revolution, total emissions were similar to 1.7 mill ions tonnes, which is comparable with the emissions from the Industria l Revolution to present. Changes in estimated Cu emissions to the atmo sphere are in good agreement with recent data on changes in Cu fallout fluxes to central Greenland obtained from the analysis of a Greenland ice core.