UArctic Chair Karl Kreutz Released a Study on Lead Pollution in Snow and Ice

Professor Karl Kreutz, UArctic Chair in Arctic Ice, Climate and Environmental History and Director of the School of Earth and Climate Sciences from the Climate Change Institute - University of Maine, has co-authored a paper published in Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts. The study, “A global review of long-range transported lead concentration and isotopic ratio records in snow and ice”, brings together data from 165 published studies to create the most comprehensive review to date of lead (Pb) pollution preserved in glaciers and snowpacks around the world.

The research highlights how snow and ice archives record centuries of atmospheric lead emissions, from Roman era mining to the rise and fall of leaded gasoline use. The review underscores the urgency of preserving these natural archives as climate change accelerates glacier melt, which risks both the loss of environmental records and the release of “legacy” lead into downstream ecosystems and human water sources.

The work provides a critical resource for scientists investigating the history and future of global lead pollution, offering recommendations for filling data gaps and guiding future cryosphere research. You can find the full article here.

You can find more information about UArctic Chairs here.

Karl Kreutz