W. Chisholm et al., MEASUREMENT OF BISMUTH AT PG G(-1) CONCENTRATIONS IN SNOW AND ICE SAMPLES BY THERMAL IONIZATION MASS-SPECTROMETRY, Analytica chimica acta, 347(3), 1997, pp. 351-358
A technique has been developed to measure bismuth in small volumes of
snow and ice at pg g(-1) concentrations by thermal ionisation mass spe
ctrometry (TIMS). The analysis of Greenland snow accumulated at Summit
from 1967 to 1989 and 8 ky old ice has yielded values between 0.02-0.
9 pg g(-1). After normalising to aluminium concentrations, enhancement
s in bismuth concentrations were found to correlate significantly with
three volcanic events. These enhancements are consistent with high bi
smuth concentrations observed in emissions from volcanoes. Compared wi
th ancient ice recent bismuth concentrations are enhanced relative to
aluminium implying either increased volcanic activity in the recent ti
mes or, more likely, a contribution from anthropogenic sources.