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. 2020 Jun 30;10(1):10661.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-67642-x.

The Great Acceleration of fragrances and PAHs archived in an ice core from Elbrus, Caucasus

Affiliations

The Great Acceleration of fragrances and PAHs archived in an ice core from Elbrus, Caucasus

Marco Vecchiato et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

The Great Acceleration of the anthropogenic impact on the Earth system is marked by the ubiquitous distribution of anthropogenic materials throughout the global environment, including technofossils, radionuclides and the exponential increases of methane and carbon dioxide concentrations. However, personal care products as direct tracers of human domestic habits are often overlooked. Here, we present the first research combining fragrances, as novel personal care products, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) as combustion and industrial markers, across the onset of the Great Acceleration in the Elbrus, Caucasus, ice core. This archive extends from the 1930s to 2005, spanning the profound changes in the relationship between humans and the environment during the twentieth century. Concentrations of both fragrances and PAHs rose throughout the considered period, reflecting the development of the Anthropocene. However, within this rising trend, remarkable decreases of the tracers track the major socioeconomic crises that occurred in Eastern Europe during the second half of the twentieth century.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Location of the drill site on the western plateau of Elbrus, Caucasus. Adapted from visibleearth.nasa.gov (NASA, MODIS Terra, November 9, 2008).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Fragrances and PAHs (ng L−1) in the Elbrus ice core with the year of snow deposition (CE) and the sample depth (m) reported along the abscissas. Error bars correspond to the standard deviation percentage of the method precision. Seasonal dating uncertainties of the analyzed ice core sections (0.5 years) are shown below the x-axes. Only detected compounds are displayed. Note the different y-axis scales for the fragrances and PAHs.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Fluxes of the fragrances and PAHs (µg m−2 year−1) in the Elbrus ice core. Abscissas report the year of snow deposition (CE) and the sample depth (m).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Multiple signals of the Great Acceleration archived in the Elbrus ice core compared to the trend of the global population as reported by Steffen et al.. Concentrations of fragrances and PAHs (ng L−1) are from this study. The 5-year moving averages of the summer concentrations (µg L−1) of Black Carbon (BC), Ca2+ as a proxy for dust, and sulphate (SO42−) were published elsewhere,,.

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