Lake Sediment Records of Preindustrial Metal Pollution

Abstract

Human industrial activities have become one of the most important mobilizing mechanisms in the global biogeochemical cycling of many trace-metals. Yet hu- mans have extracted trace-metals from the Earth’s crust throughout history in pur- suit of riches, useful metals, and energy. Indeed, many of the richest precious metal deposits on Earth were effectively exhausted prior to the advent of large-scale in- dustrial mining operations. There is therefore considerable interest in understanding how, and to what degree, these preindustrial mining and metallurgical activities have contaminated the environment.