Three decades of atmospheric metal deposition in Norway as evident from analysis of moss samples

Abstract

Monitoring of atmospheric deposition of metals in Norway on a nationwide scale using samples of terrestrial moss started in 1977 and has been repeated every 5 years. This has facilitated a detailed record of temporal and spatial trends of metal deposition all over the country as a supplement to measurements based on bulk deposition sampling on a small number of sites. Pb, Zn, Cd, As, Sb, V, Sn, Mo, and Bi all show highest deposition in the far south due to trans-boundary pollution from other parts of Europe, but the contribution from long-range atmospheric transport to metal deposition has decreased substantially over the years. The distributions of Fe, Ni, Cu, Cr, and Co are more affected by local sources, but a decreasing time trend is also evident for these elements. Se is mainly derived from processes in the marine environment. Deposition of metals from Cu-Ni smelters in Russia situated close to the Norwegian border has shown a steadily increasing trend over the time period concerned.