Comparison of elemental carbon in lake sediments measured by three different methods and 150-year pollution history in Eastern China

Concentrations of elemental carbon (EC) were measured in a 150 yr sediment record collected from Lake Chaohu in Anhui Province, eastern China, using three different thermal analytical methods: IMPROVE-A thermal optical reflectance (TOR), STN-thermal optical transmittance (TOT), and chemothermal oxidation (CTO). Distribution patterns for EC concentrations are different among the three methods, most likely due to the operational definition of EC and different temperature treatments prescribed for each method. However, similar profiles were found for high-temperature EC fractions among different methods. Historical soot_TOR (high-temperature EC fractions measured by the IMPROVE-A TOR method) from Lake Chaohu exhibited stable low concentrations prior to the late 1970s and a sharp increase thereafter, corresponding well with the rapid industrialization of China in the last three decades. This may suggest that high-temperature thermal protocols are suitable for differentiating between soot and other carbon fractions. A similar soot_TOR record was also obtained from Lake Taihu (̃200 km away), suggesting a regional source of soot. The ratio of char_TOR (low-temperature EC fraction measured by the IMPROVE-A TOR method, after correction for pyrolysis) to soot_TOR in Lake Chaohu shows an overall decreasing trend, consistent with gradual changes in fuel use from wood burning to increasing fossil fuel combustions. Average higher char_TOR/soot_TOR was observed in Lake Taihu than in Lake Chaohu in the past 150 years, consistent with the longer and more extensive industrialization around the Taihu region.