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

空气污染是当今大多数国家的一个重大社会问题。空气质量的环境管理几乎完全是基于对选定地点和样本的污染物水平进行长期监测。然而，现在有充分的证据表明，这并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。虽然同位素示踪法的应用是最近才出现的，但它已被证明能有效地精确区分和确定不同的污染媒介，并量化其各自的贡献。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的规划。该方案将专门解决关键的大气污染问题（确定空气污染源，对其各自的贡献进行半定量，描述次级过程）;特别是，将调查无机污染物，包括对环境影响大的有毒金属，如锇（Os）、镉（Cd）或汞（Hg）。整个研究计划将分为两个互补的研究轴。首先，我们将测试使用生物指示剂（苔藓/地衣）的同位素（S，Pb，Sr，Os同位素）跟踪源/过程控制其预算在空气中的被动采样器的可能性。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）。该研究计划将支持四名研究生在UQAM进行的研究。生物指示剂项目的第一部分将帮助培养两名博士生。该计划的第二部分金属同位素将支持两个博士学位。候选人将有机会在GEOTOP中心的地球科学研究小组中工作。他们还将受益于我17年的空气污染研究经验，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同位素特征。该计划的独创性在于生物指示剂的多同位素表征，这些生物指示剂在这里用作空气被动采样器。这也将构成耦合质量相关和质量无关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对付的空气污染源以及所涉及的大气过程。因此，将同位素测量纳入空气污染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.**