Bio-tracking sources of atmospheric pollution using a multi-isotope approach

今天，对大多数国家来说，空气污染是一个重大的社会问题。空气质量的环境管理几乎完全是基于对选定的地点和样本进行一段时间的污染物水平监测。然而，现在有充分的证据表明，这不能明确地确定不同的污染源及其各自的贡献。最近的研究表明，这些限制可以通过使用同位素来克服。虽然同位素示踪方法的应用相对较新，但它已被证明在准确区分和识别不同的污染载体以及量化它们各自的贡献方面是有效的。*这项研究计划的目的是证明在空气质量监测网络中整合同位素数据在技术上是可行的，并导致更有效的环境管理措施规划。该计划将具体解决主要的大气污染问题(确定空气污染源、半量化其各自的贡献、二级过程的特征)；特别是将调查无机污染物，包括对环境影响较大的有毒金属，如Os(Os)、Cd(Cd)或Hg(Hg)。整个研究计划将被组织成两个互补的研究轴线。首先，我们将测试使用生物指示剂(苔藓/地衣)作为被动采样器的可能性，以跟踪控制其在空气中的收支的来源/过程的同位素(S、铅、锶、铯同位素)。该计划的第二部分将继续这项工作，将这项研究扩展到其他金属同位素(汞、铬、镉、锌、铜)。*该研究计划将支持UQAM的四名研究生进行的研究。生物指标项目的第一部分将帮助培养两名博士生。该计划关于金属同位素的第二部分将支持另外两名博士。候选人将有机会在GEOTOP中心一个活跃的地球科学研究小组中工作。他们还将受益于我17年来研究空气污染的经验，以及我目前正在监督的另一项研究：城市空气污染源和气溶胶排放的S同位素表征。*这个项目的独创性在于生物指示剂的多同位素表征，这里用作空气被动采样器。这也将构成结合质量依赖和质量独立的同位素分馏方法的第一批研究之一。这里提出的方法将使人们更好地了解需要控制和采取行动的空气污染的来源，以及所涉及的大气过程。因此，将同位素测量纳入对空气污染地区的研究将是对目前做法的高度创新。

Air pollution is today a major societal issue for most countries. Environmental management of air quality is almost exclusively based on monitoring pollutant levels in a selection of sites and samples through time. However, there is now ample evidence that this does not allow to unambiguously establish the different pollution sources and their respective contributions. Recent research showed that these limitations can be overcome by using isotopes. Although the application of the isotope tracing approach is fairly recent, it has proven to be effective at precisely discriminating and identifying the different vectors of pollution, and quantifying their respective contributions.******The objective of this research program is to demonstrate that integrating isotope data in air quality monitoring networks is technologically feasible and leads to more effective planning of environmental management measures. This program will specifically address key atmospheric pollution issues (identification of sources of air pollution, semi-quantification of their respective contributions, characterisation of secondary processes); in particular, inorganic pollutants, including toxic metals of high environmental impact, such as osmium (Os), cadmium (Cd) or mercury (Hg), will be investigated. The overall research program will be organised into two complementary research axes. First, we will test the possibility of using bioindicators (mosses/lichens) as passive samplers for isotopically (S, Pb, Sr, Os isotopes) tracing sources/processes controlling their budget in the air. The second part of the program will be in continuation with this work, extending this study to other metal isotopes (Hg, Cr, Cd, Zn, Cu).******This research program will support research conducted by four graduate students at UQAM. The first part of the program on bioindicators will help train two PhD students. The second part of the program on metal isotopes will support two more PhDs. The candidates will have the opportunity to work within an active research group in Earth Sciences at the GEOTOP center. They will also benefit from my 17-year experience studying air pollution as well as from another study that I am currently supervising: S isotope characterisation of emissions from urban sources of air pollution and aerosols.******The originality of this program resides in the multi-isotope characterisation of bioindicators that are here used as air passive samplers. This will also constitute one of the very first studies coupling a mass-dependent and mass-independent isotope fractionations approach. The methodology proposed here will provide a better understanding of the sources of air pollution to be controlled and acted against, as well as of the atmospheric processes involved. The integration of isotope measurements to the study of air-contaminated areas will thus constitute a high degree of innovation with respect to current practices.**