Historical industrial activities at the Horn Richterwil, on the shore of Lake Zurich (Switzerland), caused widespread metal contamination on land and in the adjacent lake sediments. This study provides an estimation of the age and source of the contamination by using different analytical techniques for quantitative measurements of trace metals and MC-ICP-MS for the stable isotope analysis of mercury. Maximum concentrations found within all samples are in the range of per mil (dry weight) for Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sn, and Zn and lie within the top 10 cm of the sediment cores.
R.L. Roethlin, A. Gilli, B. Wehrli, R. Sue Gilli, J. G. Wiederhold and N. Dubois, Tracking the legacy of early industrial activity in sediments of Lake Zurich, Switzerland: using a novel multi-proxy approach to find the source of extensive metal contamination. Environmental Science Pollution Research International, 29, 85789–85801 (2022). doi:10.1007/s11356-022-21288-6.
Lead pollution in Lake Geneva’s Vidy Bay increased significantly after the industrial revolution, peaking in 1964 with concentrations reaching 4000 mg/kg due to wastewater discharge from a treatment plant. Although improved treatment and outlet relocation have reduced contamination, lead levels in sediments remain elevated.
E. Gascón Díez, J.P. Corella, T. Adatte, F. Thevenon, J.-L. Loizeau, High resolution reconstruction of the 20th century history of trace metals, major elements, and organic matter in sediments in a contaminated area of Lake Geneva, Switzerland. Applied Geochemistry, 78, 1–11 (2017). doi:10.1016/j.apgeochem.2016.12.007.
Study of the accumulation of insoluble metal sulphides, among them lead, in the sedimentary record of Lake Cadagno as the result of past airborne pollution.
M. Bueche and P. Junier, Effect of organic carbon and metal accumulation on the bacterial communities in sulphidogenic sediments. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 23, 10443–10456 (2016). doi:10.1007/s11356-016-6056-z.
Terrigenous (Sc, Fe, K, Mg, Al, Ti) and anthropogenic (Pb and Cu) element fluxes were measured in a new sediment core from Lake Biel (Switzerland) and in previously well-documented cores from two upstream lakes (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun). The lowest lead enrichment factors (EFs Pb) were measured in the upstream course of the Aare River at the site of Lake Brienz, whereas the metal pollution was highest in downstream Lake Biel, with the maximum values measured between 1940 and 1970.
F. Thevenon, S.B. Wirth, M. Fujak, J. Poté and S. Girardclos, Human impact on the transport of terrigenous and anthropogenic elements to peri-alpine lakes (Switzerland) over the last decades. Aquatic Sciences, 75, 413–424 (2013). doi:10.1007/s00027-013-0287-6.
Lead profile in a 61-cm long sediment core retrieved from Lake Brêt (a drinking water reservoir). Lead presented a slight enrichment factor (EF) only during the second part of the 20th century but the alkyl-lead added to petrol was excluded as the dominant (atmospheric) source of lead because Hg and Cu profiles exhibited a relatively similar trend.
F. Thevenon, L.F. de Alencastro, J.-L. Loizeau, T. Adatte, D. Grandjean, W. Wildi and J. Poté, A high-resolution historical sediment record of nutrients, trace elements and organochlorines (DDT and PCB) deposition in a drinking water reservoir (Lake Brêt, Switzerland) points at local and regional pollutant sources. Chemosphere 90, 2444–2452 (2013). doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2012.11.002.
Continuous high-resolution sedimentary record of heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Hg) from lakes Lucerne and Meidsee (Switzerland), provides pollutant deposition history from two contrasting Alpine environments over the last millennia.
F. Thevenon, S. Guédron, M. Chiaradia, J.-L. Loizeau and J. Poté, (Pre-) historic changes in natural and anthropogenic heavy metals deposition inferred from two contrasting Swiss Alpine lakes. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30, 224–233 (2011).
Lead pollution in Lakes Geneva, Lucerne, and Constance rose sharply after 1750 due to industrialization. In Lake Lucerne, increases began around 1500 from metallurgical activity. Vidy Bay (Lake Geneva) became heavily contaminated in the 20th century from wastewater discharge, with lead levels exceeding 100 μg/g. Although pollution declined after the 1980s with improved treatment, lead levels remain above pre-industrial values.
F. Thevenon, N.D. Graham, M. Chiaradia, P. Arpagaus, W. Wildi and J. Poté, Local to regional scale industrial heavy metal pollution recorded in sediments of large freshwater lakes in central Europe (lakes Geneva and Lucerne) over the last centuries. Science of The Total Environment, 412–413, 239-247 (2011). doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.09.025
Study on the comparison of the composition of bacterial and archaeal communities in contaminated sediments (Vidy Bay) with uncontaminated sediments (Ouchy area) of Lake Geneva that includes two lead profiles.
L. Haller, M. Tonolla, J. Zopfi, R. Peduzzi, W. Wildi and J. Poté, Composition of bacterial and archaeal communities in freshwater sediments with different contamination levels (Lake Geneva, Switzerland). Water Research, 45, 1213-1228 (2011). doi:10.1016/j.watres.2010.11.018.
Overview of atmospheric lead deposition and some of the geochemical tools, in particular lead isotopes and enrichment factors (EF), used to decipher the information stored in bogs with description of historical reconstructions of lead deposition made using bogs at eight ombrotrophic and minerotrophic mires in Switzerland.
M.E. Kylander, D.J. Weiss, E. Peiteado Varela, T. Taboada Rodriguez and A. Martínez Cortizas, Archiving natural and anthropogenic lead deposition in peatlands. Developments in Earth Surface Processes, 9, 479–497 (2006). doi:10.1016/S0928-2025(06)09021-3.
A 9000 cal. year record of geochemistry was analysed in a sediment core obtained from a Swiss alpine hard-water lake (1937 m a.s.l.) that is located at the present-day tree-line. Changes in concentrations of Rb, Ti, Zr, Fe, As, and Pb are closely related to corresponding changes in the concentrations of quartz and clay. Despite the decrease in the silicate fraction, Pb increases, due to elevated atmospheric input resulting from early metal pollution, are masked by the high natural variability.
K.A. Koinig, W. Shotyk, A.F. Lotter, C. Ohlendorf and M. Sturm, 9000 years of geochemical evolution of lithogenic major and trace elements in the sediment of an alpine lake–the role of climate, vegetation, and land-use history. Journal of Paleolimnology, 30, 307–320 (2003). doi:10.1023/A:1026080712312.
Lead isotopes in Lake Constance sediments reveal the history of heavy metal pollution in the region, showing a shift from atmospheric deposition to a later contribution from the remobilization of previously polluted soils in the catchment . The isotopic composition changed significantly over time, tracking major pollution events like the widespread use of leaded gasoline from approximately 1960 to 1990, after which atmospheric deposition and overall pollution decreased significantly due to environmental protection efforts.
B. Kober, M. Wessels, A. Bollhöfer and A. Mangini. Pb isotopes in sediments of Lake Constance, Central Europe constrain the heavy metal pathways and the pollution history of the catchment, the lake and the regional atmosphere. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 63, 1293–1303 (1999). doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(99)00064-2.
Pb isotopes and Pb concentrations were measured in two sediment cores sampled in Lake Geneva at the center of the basin (central plain) and in an area which receives the effluents of the wastewater treatment plant of Lausanne as well as runoff inputs.
F. Monna, J. Dominik, J.-L. Loizeau, M. Pardos and P. Arpagaus, Origin and evolution of Pb in sediments of Lake Geneva (Switzerland−France). Establishing a stable Pb record. Environmental Science & Technology, 33, 2850–2857 (1999). doi:10.1021/es9902468.
Analyses of Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb in dated sediment cores from Lake Zurich covering a time span of the last 200 years and an additional time interval between 13 500 and 15 000 years before the present time. Contrary to world-wide observations, the increase of lead by automobile exhausts was not evident in the sediments of Lake Zurich. Here, its concentrations remained almost constant between 1900 and 1975. Then they began to decrease due to the reduced use of leaded fuel. Thus, the lead input to the lake by automobile exhausts was nearly compensated by continuously decreasing industrial releases to the environment and the mentioned improvements of environmental conservation techniques.
H.R. von Gunten, M. Sturm and R.N. Moser, 200-Year record of metals in lake sediments and natural background concentrations. Environmental Science & Technology, 31, 2193–2197 (1997). doi:10.1021/es960616h.
In order to study the effects of decreasing lead emissions from gasoline on a lake sediment, profiles of lead concentrations and 206Pb/207Pb ratios have been determined in cores from Lake Zug. Pb emissions in Switzerland and Pb concentrations in the sediment correlated well.
H.C. Moor, T. Schaller and M. Sturm, Recent changes in stable lead isotope ratios in sediments of Lake Zug, Switzerland. Environmental Science & Technology, 30, 2928–2933 (1996). doi:10.1021/es950895t.
Sulfate reducing bacteria in the anoxic zone of Lake Cadagno produce sulfide in sufficient levels to precipitate Cd, Pb, and Zn. The constant sulfide rich conditions present in the sediment have prevented the remobilisation of the metals into the water column and have resulted in the formation of defined stable metal profiles over the last 50 years (note that this study was published more than 25 years ago).
L. Birch, K.W. Hanselmann and R. Bachofen, Heavy metal conservation in Lake Cadagno sediments: Historical records of anthropogenic emissions in a meromictic alpine lake. Water Research, 30, 679–687 (1996). doi:10.1016/0043-1354(95)00231-6.