Shells of aquatic freshwater gastropods as archives for heavy metal contamination history of a river-coast transition zone – Proof-of-concept study inSouth India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu)

河流到沿海生态系统特别受到人为排放重金属的影响。这在人口稠密的亚洲国家非常明显，在过去200年中显示出快速的发展。淡水腹足类贝壳监测最近到历史的重金属转移到这样的水生生态系统的适用性迄今尚未详细调查。在这项研究中，腹足类贝壳在印度南部的Peryiar，Adyar和Cooum河的沉积序列将进行采样，taphonomically表征和分析的LA-ICP-MS痕量重金属与高空间分辨率。多个和单壳sclerochronous方法将被应用到验证的概念，使用淡水腹足类贝壳作为环境档案的人为重金属排放在最近的历史时期，涵盖了快速的社会和工业发展的过去200年。

Riverine to coastal ecosystems are particularly affected by anthropogenic emissions of heavy metals. This is highly pronounced in densely populated Asian countries showing fast evolution in the last 200 years. The applicability of freshwater gastropods shells to monitor recent to historic transfer of heavy metals to such aquatic ecosystems has so far not been investigated in detail. In this study gastropod shells contained in sedimentary sequences of the Peryiar, Adyar and Cooum rivers in South India will be sampled, taphonomically characterized and analyzed by LA-ICP-MS for trace heavy metals with high spatial resolution. Multiple and single shell sclerochronological approaches will be applied to verify the concept of using freshwater gastropod shells as environmental archives for anthropogenic heavy metal emissions in recent to historic times covering the period of fast social and industrial evolution of the last 200 years.