image: Record of anthropogenic lead emissions over the past 2,000 years in the Bolivian Altiplano. Shown are lead enrichment factors (EFs) compared to the regional background, reconstructed based on an ice core from the Illimani glacier. Before the use of leaded gasoline (period AD-1960), lead emissions from mining activities were dominant, especially during periods of the pre-Colombian cultures Tiwanaku/Wari and the Incas, the colonial era and with the increasing industrialization in the 20th century (brown, blue). Emissions from leaded gasoline were primarily responsible for the significant increase after 1960 (green). This material relates to a paper that appeared in the March 6, 2015, issue of Science, published by AAAS. The paper, by A. Eichler at Paul Scherrer Institut in Villigen, Switzerland, and colleagues was titled, "Pb pollution from leaded gasoline in South America in the context of a 2000-year metallurgical history." view more
Credit: Copyright: Paul Scherrer Institute