Atmospheric deposition of iron from mining activities in northern Ontario.
Samples of Sphagnum moss were collected at varying distances from two iron-mining and processing centres in northern Ontario, Canada--Atikokan and Sudbury--and analyzed for Fe. All samples were collected in ombrotrophic bogs which receive chemical inputs strictly from atmospheric deposition. Mosses from the Atikokan sites exhibited elevated concentrations of Fe up to 7352 mg kg-1 near the local sources, and declined exponentially with distance to lows of 1443 mg kg-1. Atikokan, a mining and ore-processing centre, caused elevated Fe levels up to 50 km distance from the town, while Sudbury exhibited a greater influence due to the tall stack there. At Sudbury, levels ranged from 2478 mg kg-1 near the town down to 382 mg kg-1 in remote sites. Results from these moss analyses were similar to those obtained from precipitation sampling of previous authors.
D004785:Environmental Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D007501:Iron / Q000032:analysis*; D008906:Mining; D009864:Ontario; D010944:Plants / Q000032:analysis
D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D007501:Iron