In order to understand the potential influence of pollution from human activity on the natural cycle of trace elements in the at- mosphere over the eastern Kunlun mountains, north-eastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, concentrations of Al, Fe, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Ni, Zn, Pb, Sb, Sr, U and V in a 75 cm-deep snow pit recovered from 5,800 m a.s.l. of the Yuzhu Peak Glacier on October 25, 2009, were determined by a sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results indicate that con- centrations of the measured trace elements vary by orders of magnitude from one element to another ranging from the minimum value 1.2 pg/g (U) to the maximum value 293 ng/g (Fe); the value of Max/Min ranges from 7 pg/g (Sd) to 358 pg/g (Li). EFc val- ues of measured trace elements show that there are other important sources except dust for Cd, Sb, Zn, Pb and Cu. Comparison of the concentrations of the measured trace elements with those in other areas in the Tibetan Plateau indicates that trace element con- centrations for Yuzhu Peak are lower than those in east Tianshan and Muztagh Ata (Pamirs). Concentrations of some trace ele- ments are also lower than those in East Rongbuk Glacier. However, concentrations of all measured trace elements are extensively higher than those in Greenland and the Antarctic.
YueFang Li XiaoLan Shi NingLian Wang JianChen Pu TanDong Yao
