Mid- and late Holocene dust deposition in western Europe: the Misten peat bog (Hautes Fagnes – Belgium)

Dust deposition in southern Belgium is estimated from the geochemical signature of an ombrotrophic peatland. The rare earth elements (REE) and lithogenic elements concentrations, as well as Nd isotopes, were determined by HR-ICP-MS and MC-ICP-MS, respectively, along an ~6 m peat section covering 5300 yr, from 2000 to 7300 cal BP, dated by the 14C method. Changes in REE concentration in the peat correlate with those of Ti, Al, Sc and Zr that are lithogenic conservative elements, suggesting that REE are immobile in the studied peat bogs and can be used as tracers of dust deposition. Peat humific... Mehr ...