Abstract The aim of this paper is to showcase the use of lichens in environmental forensics from an assessment of atmospheric deposition in and around the Cu smelter and former mining town of Karabash, Ural Mountains of Russia. Hypogymnia physodes was collected on its bark substrate in July 2001 from a ‘reference’ site ( c. 25 km SW of Karabash) and transplanted to 10 stations along an approximately 60 km SSW–NNE transect centred on Karabash. Transplants were collected after 2 and 3 month exposure periods. The elemental compositions of Hypogymnia and potential sources of particulates in the study area (smelter blast furnace and converter dusts, wastes, tailings, road dusts, metallurgical slags and top soils) were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) and quadrupole ICP mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and the Pb isotope compositions of the lichens and smelter dusts by multicollector ICP-MS. Particulates on lichen surfaces were analysed by scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM-EDX). The method of lichen transplantation, combined with multi-element and surface particle elemental analysis, high-precision Pb isotope ratio determinations and modelling, was shown to be useful for the tracing of the smelter signal, and components from different smelter processes, for more than 25 km from Karabash town. The lichen monitoring methodology is discrete and comparatively low cost, enabling atmospheric deposition from natural and anthropogenic sources to be determined over short (<3 month) periods, and is therefore a valuable qualitative tool for environmental forensics.

The Velay granite pluton (Massif Central, France) is the youngest (304 ± 5 Ma) and largest (∼6,900 km 2 ) of the major Massif Central monzogranites/granodiorites and was formed nearly 50 Ma after the cessation of Hercynian continental collision (Pin & Duthou 1990). It is a highly heterogeneous pluton consisting of I-type, high-Sr granites (Sr= 500–900 ppm) with low ε Sr (304) (+35 to +41) and high ε Nd (304) (−3 to −5), at its centre, grading into S-type and mixed I–S-type heterogeneous granites of more normal Sr content (100–420 ppm) and higher ε Sr (304) (+40 to +210) and lower ε Nd (304) (−3·8 to −7.3) at its margins. The metasedimentary lower crust of the Massif Central was underplated/intruded by mafic mantle-derived magmas between 360 Ma and 300 Ma. From 300–280 Ma (Downes et al. 1991) underplating led to partial melting and granulite facies metamorphism of the material (represented by felsic and mafic meta-igneous lower crustal xenoliths, ε Sr (304) = −11 to + 112, ε Nd (304) = +2·2 to 8·2, Downes et al 1990). The partial melts assimilated mainly schist but also felsic gneiss and older granite country rock material (ε Sr (304) = +100 to +300, ε Nd (304) = −5 to −9) to produce the heterogeneous granites. Plagioclase and biotite were accumulated at the base of the intrusion which was intruded to high levels to form the high-Sr granites.