Lake Found in Sierra Nevada with the Oldest Remains of Atmospheric Contamination in Southern Europe

[knocker]

• A team of scientists find in the Laguna de Rio Seco lagoon, at an altitude of 3,020 m., evidence of atmospheric pollution caused by lead and linked to metallurgical activities from 3,900 years ago (Early Bronze Age)
• Lead pollution increased gradually during the Late Bronze Age and Early Iron Age, coinciding with the development and expansion of metallurgy in southern Europe

Atmospheric contamination due to heavy metals is currently a severe problem of global proportions, with important repercussions in public health. However, this type of pollution is not a recent fact and can even be detected during pre-historic times.

 

A team of scientists, which includes scientists from the Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences and the University of Granada, has discovered evidence of atmospheric pollution caused by lead. This evidence was found in a lagoon in Sierra Nevada (Granada), at an altitude of 3,020 m. The pollution comes from metallurgical activities, carried out some 3,900 years ago (Early Bronze Age). This find refers to the oldest atmospheric pollution on record in southern Europe.

 

 

http://canal.ugr.es/natural-resources-and-environment/item/64747