Coupled study of radionuclides and stable lead isotopes in Western Mediterranean

The aim of this work is to identified an environmental deposit able to have stored the atmospheric signal over large time-scale leaning our investigations on lead stable isotopes (206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb) and radionuclide (210Pb, 137Cs, 239Pu, 240Pu) analysis. Owing to prior studies on anthropogenic lead sources, emission intensity and sedimentary accumulation, we choose to investigate the marine sediments of the Western Mediterranean. In the Gulf of Lions, the sedimentary accumulation is 110 ± 7 μg.cm-2 high in good agreement with the atmospheric inventory estimate we made from salt marshes of Camargue (99 μg.cm-2). The reconstructed lead accumulation through a modelling step coupling 210Pb and stable isotopes corroborates the regional anthropogenic emissions (Ferrand, 1996). Briefly, in this context of the marine sediments are a relevant proxy to study past lead atmospheric concentration over the last hundred years. In the Alboran Sea, the study area is less constrained and more complex in terms of climatic, meteorological and hydrological conditions. The sedimentary inventory is of 153 ± 47 μg.cm-2, 1,5 higher than in the margin sediments of the Gulf of Lions. The analysis of aerosols, sediments and settling particles evidences a continuity between the atmospheric signal and the sedimentary record. In spite of this encouraging results, the knowledge of the Alboran system is still too restricted in order to unambiguously conclude on accuracy of deep marine sediments of this area to study past atmospheric fallouts. (author)