Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are a proxy for climate- and human-related historical fire activity which has rarely been used beyond 1800AD. We explored the concentration and composition patterns of PAHs together with other proxies (charcoal, C, N, S, δ13C, δ15N, and δ34S) in a sediment core of Holzmaar as indicators of variations in climate and anthropogenic activity over the past 2600years. The concentrations of pyrogenic PAHs remained low (<500ngg-1) from the pre-Roman Iron Age (600BC) until the first significant increases to ca. 1000-1800ngg-1 between 1700 and 1750AD related to regional iron production. The highest increases in pyrogenic PAH concentrations occurred with industrialization peaking in the 1960s. PAH concentrations in most recent sediments decreased to pre-industrial levels because of emission control measures and the switch from coal to oil and gas as major fuel sources. Fluxes of PAHs (mgkm-2yr-1) increased in the order Migration Period and Early Middle Ages
Geographic Institute, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012 Bern, Switzerland; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, New Zealand; Institute of Computer Science, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Staudingerweg 9, 55128 Mainz, Germany; Earth System Science Research Center, Institute for Geosciences, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Johann-Joachim-Becher-Weg 21, 55128 Mainz, Germany
Recommended Citation:
Musa Bandowe B.A.,Srinivasan P.,Seelge M.,et al. A 2600-year record of past polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) deposition at Holzmaar (Eifel, Germany)[J]. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,2014-01-01,401