Filling Gaps in the Atlantic and Pacific Pb and Pb Isotope Spatial and Temporal Evolution

铅是一种微量金属，历史上通过人类活动（如燃煤和使用含铅汽油）排放到大气中，然后沉积到海洋中。铅一旦进入海洋环境，就会通过水流扩散，并被生物群和其他下沉的微粒带走。这个世纪规模的铅排放增长，随后随着含铅汽油的逐步淘汰而下降，这是一个伟大的全球地球化学实验。在这项研究中，麻省理工学院的研究人员将分析存档的海水样本，以提高我们对铅浓度和铅同位素比率的时空变化的认识。这些数据将对铅和其他金属的来源和运输产生新的见解，记录人类在海洋上随时间变化的足迹，并协助验证模型。更广泛的影响：这项研究将提高我们对影响海洋中铅化学的因素的理解，并为研究生和博士后提供这种元素的生物地球化学的教育机会。

Lead is a trace metal that has historically been emitted into the atmosphere through human activities such as coal burning and the use of leaded gasoline followed by deposition into the ocean. Once introduced into the marine environment, lead is dispersed via currents and removed by biota and other sinking particles. This century-scale growth of lead emissions followed by a decline upon the phase-out of leaded gasoline is one of the great global geochemical experiments. In this study, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will analyze archived seawater samples to improve our knowledge on the spatial and temporal variability of lead concentrations and lead isotope ratios. This data will yield new insights into the sources and transport of lead and other metals, document the time-evolving human footprint on the ocean, and assist with validating models. Broader Impacts: The study will improve our understanding of factors influencing lead chemistry in the ocean and provide educational opportunities for graduate and post-doctoral students in the biogeochemistry of this element.