Ny-Ålesund has been significantly impacted by anthropogenic activities (e.g. coal mining, scientific research, tourist shipping) over the past 100 years. However, the studies of potential toxic elements (PTEs) contamination in Ny-Ålesund currently mainly focus on surface soil or surface fjord sediments, and little is known about the history and status of PTEs contamination over the past 100 years. In this study, we collected a palaeo-notch sediment profile YN, analyzed the contents of six typical PTEs (Cu, Pb, Cd, Hg, As, Se) in the sediments, and assessed the historical pollution status in Ny-Ålesund using the pollution load index, geo-accumulation index and enrichment factor. The results showed that the contents of PTEs over the past 100 years increased rapidly compared with those during the interval of 9400-100 BP. In addition, Pb, Cd and Hg showed a clear signal of enrichment and were the main polluters among the PTEs analyzed. The contamination was likely linked to gas-oil powered generators, coal mining, research station, tourist shipping and long-range transport of pollutants.

在过去的100年中，Ny-Ålesund受到人为活动（例如煤矿开采，科学研究，旅游航运）的重大影响。但是，目前对Ny-Ålesund中潜在的有毒元素（PTE）污染的研究主要集中在表层土壤或表层峡湾沉积物上，而对过去100年间PTE污染的历史和状况了解甚少。在这项研究中，我们收集了古缺口沉积物YN，分析了沉积物中六种典型PTE的含量（Cu，Pb，Cd，Hg，As，Se），并使用Ny-Ålesund评估了历史污染状况。污染负荷指数，地质积累指数和富集因子。结果表明，在过去的100年中，PTE的含量与9400-100 BP期间的含量相比迅速增加。另外，铅 镉和汞显示出明显的富集信号，并且是分析的PTE中的主要污染源。污染很可能与汽油发电机，煤矿，研究站，旅游船和污染物的远距离运输有关。