Concentration and environmental significance of lead in surface snow of Antarctic ice sheet (III)

Lead as an ultra-trace heavy metal becomes one of popular topics in glaciochemistry of the Antarctic ice sheet, because of its very low concertration (pg·g-1) and background and its sensitivity to the quality of the environment. The lead concentration of surface snow of the Antarctic ice sheet (corresponding to modern precipitation) applying LEAF technique by Chinese scholars has systematically been studied for the first time in the world. The distribution principle of lead concentration of surface snow of the Antarctic ice sheet is "low in the west and high in the east" along the route of 1990 International Trans-Antarctic Expedition (ITAE). The concentration of lead in East Antarctica is 2 - 3 fold higher than that in Larsen ice shelf and Antarctic Peninsula, which majorly results from the activity of pre-Soviet Antarctic Expedition The concentration of lead in Larsen ice shelf and Antarctic Peninsula can be regarded as the background value of modern precipitation of the Antarctic ice sheet in the en