HR: 0800h
AN: H21C-1033    [Abstracts]
TI: Arsenic Levels in Tree Rings From a Contaminated Site in New Jersey, USA
AU: * Katz, B
EM: bek2008@columbia.edu
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: * Katz, B
EM: bek2008@columbia.edu
AF: Columbia College, 208 Hamilton Hall, Mail Code 2805, New York, NY 10027 United States
AU: Cheng, Z
EM: czhongqi@ldeo.columbia.edu
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Buckley, B
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Wright, W
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Curtis, A
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: Li, J
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AU: van Geen, A
AF: Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, 61 Route 9W, Palisades, NY 10964 United States
AB: Increment cores and stems were obtained from trees grown in arsenic (As) contaminated soil at the US EPA Vineland Superfund Site in New Jersey. The tree-ring widths were measured and crossdated to produce chronologies that were then compared with control chronologies created from trees sampled in nearby uncontaminated areas. Dendrochemical analysis by wet digestion and High Resolution Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (HR ICP-MS) confirmed little As incorporation (0.05-1.0 ppm) in the xylem rings, and showed species-specific patterns in annual rings. Trees grown in As-contaminated soils had much higher xylem As than those from uncontaminated areas. Within individual trees, As levels were highest in the leaves, followed by the pith and bark, and are lowest in the xylem rings. These levels are several orders of magnitude lower than reported levels in roots and soils. Low growth periods in one pine sample, most notably in 1960's, appear to follow regional growth trends and correspond with higher As levels. One oak sample showed a unique fast growth period with normal As levels from 1955 to 1970, but a higher As period in the 1980's and early 1990's with no apparent growth anomaly. These periods may be related to either regional climatic, or local hydrologic and environmental changes induced by the operation of the Vineland Chemical Company and As disposal. The nutrient levels in xylem rings show little correlation with As. Our tree ring As results support the possibility of using As levels and profiles as a biomarker for local environmental contamination.
DE: 1851 Plant ecology
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2004 AGU Fall Meeting