Determination of ultra-low concentrations of Pb-210 in Antarctic glacier with cation exchange resins filter--results, problems and perspectives.

In this paper, we describe a new, reliable and simple method to determine 210Pb concentration in ice-core samples, based on "Radium 3M" filters (USA). The advantages are well-known chemical yield, simplified retention procedure and measurement by low-energy Ge gamma spectrometry. We compare the results with those obtained by MN 616 LSA-50 filters (Germany). The method permits us to determine activity concentrations down to 30 mBq/l. We proved the efficiency and applicability of the method in the study of ice cores drilled in Livingston Island's glacier in Antarctica.