Peatlands as archives

As part of a project funded by the German Research Foundation, CEZA is currently investigating the temporal and spatial variation of atmospheric trace element deposition and isotope composition (lead and osmium) within a bog (Wildseemoor, northern Black Forest) over the last 150 years.

Participants: Prof. Dr. William Shotyk

For this purpose, three cores from a bog (Wildsee bog, northern Black Forest), which are one metre long and accurately dated (¹⁴C for the oldest peat layers of the cores, ²¹⁰Pb for the uppermost approx. 60 cm (last 150 years) and ¹⁴C bomb pulses for the youngest peat layers (last 50 years)), are examined and the accumulation rates of the peat over time are compared with each other. The main aim is to find out how accurately these cores from one peatland reflect the atmospheric deposition into the whole peatland and whether fewer cores may be sufficient to reconstruct the atmospheric deposition in a representative way.

Further objectives are, on the one hand, to link the time-resolved atmospheric trace metal inputs with the Pb and Os isotope ratios and, on the other hand, to optimise methods in order to make the Moor archive accessible to source tracers other than those already established. Furthermore, knowledge about the behaviour of Os during input into bogs is to be gained so that the entire cycle of platinum group elements (PGE) can be understood. Based on the last 40 years, the significance of the catalytic converters of combustion engines in comparison to other Os sources is to be clarified.