%A XingXing Jiang, ShuGui Hou, YuanSheng Li, HongXi Pang, Rong Hua, Mayewski Paul, Sneed Sharon, ChunLei An, Handley Michael, Ke Liu, WangBin Zhang %T Spatial variations of Pb, As, and Cu in surface snow along the transect from the Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica %0 Journal Article %D 2018 %J Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions %R 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2018.00219 %P 219-231 %V 10 %N 3 %U {http://www.scar.ac.cn/CN/abstract/article_23.shtml} %8 2018-06-01 %X The spatial distributions of lead, arsenic, and copper (Pb, As, and Cu, respectively) in surface snow along the transect from the Zhongshan Station to Dome A, East Antarctica, are presented. The mean concentrations of Pb, As, and Cu are 1.04±1.56 pg/g, 0.39±0.08 pg/g, and 11.2±14.4 pg/g, respectively. It is estimated that anthropogenic contributions are dominant for Pb, As, and Cu. Spatially, Pb concentrations show an exponentially decreasing trend from the coast inland, while a moderate decreasing trend is observed for Cu concentrations in the coastal area (below 2,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.)). In the intermediate area (2,000-3,000 m a.s.l.), the concentrations and enrichment factors of all these elements show high variability due to the complicated characteristics of climate and environment. On the inland plateau (above 3,000 m a.s.l.), the high concentrations of As and Pb are induced by high deposition efficiency, the existence of polar stratospheric precipitation, and the different fraction deposition to East Antarctica. The extremely high concentrations with maximum values of 9.59 pg/g and 69.9 pg/g for Pb and Cu, respectively, are suggested to result mainly from local human activities at the station. Our results suggest that source, transport pathway, and deposition pattern, rather than distance from the coast or altitude, lead to the spatial distributions of Pb, As, and Cu; and it is further confirmed by spatial variations of the three metals deposited over the whole continent of Antarctica.