5 research outputs found
Spatial Modeling of PAHs in Lichens for Fingerprinting of Multisource Atmospheric Pollution
Disentangling Natural and Anthropogenic Sources of Atmospheric Sulfur in an Industrial Region Using Biomonitors
Despite
reductions in atmospheric sulfur (S) concentrations due
to abatement policies in some countries, modeling the dispersion of
this pollutant and disentangling anthropogenic sources from natural
ones is still of great concern. Lichens have been used as biomonitors
of the impacts of S for over 40 years, but their potential as source-tracers
of specific sources, including natural ones, remains unexplored. In
fact, few attempts have been made to try to distinguish and spatially
model different sources of S using lichens. We have measured S concentrations
and isotopic values in lichens within an industrial coastal region
where different sources of S, natural and anthropogenic, interplay.
We detected a prevailing influence of natural sea-originated S that
mixed with anthropogenic sources of S. We were then able to disentangle
the sources of S, by removing the ocean influence on S isotopic values,
enabling us to model the impact of different anthropogenic sources
on S deposition and highlighting the potential use of lichens to evaluate
the weight of different types of anthropogenic sources
Isotopes as Tracers of the Hawaiian Coffee-Producing Regions
Green coffee bean isotopes have been used to trace the effects of different climatic and geological characteristics associated with the Hawaii islands. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry (IRMS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry ((MC)-ICP-SFMS and ICP-QMS) were applied to determine the isotopic composition of carbon (Ī“<sup>13</sup>C), nitrogen (Ī“<sup>15</sup>N), sulfur (Ī“<sup>34</sup>S), and oxygen (Ī“<sup>18</sup>O), the isotope abundance of strontium (<sup>87</sup>Sr/<sup>86</sup>Sr), and the concentrations of 30 different elements in 47 green coffees. The coffees were produced in five Hawaii regions: Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu. Results indicate that coffee plant seed isotopes reflect interactions between the coffee plant and the local environment. Accordingly, the obtained analytical fingerprinting could be used to discriminate between the different Hawaii regions studied