Spatial trends and historical deposition of mercury in eastern and northern Canada inferred from lake sediment cores.

Recent and historical deposition of mercury (Hg) was examined over a broad geographic area from southwestern Northwest Territories to Labrador and from the U.S. Northeast to northern Ellesmere Island using dated sediment cores from 50 lakes (18 in midlatitudes (41-50 degrees N), 14 subarctic (51-64 degrees N) and 18 in the Arctic (65-83 degrees N)). Distinct increases of Hg overtime were observed in 76% of Arctic, 86% of subarctic and 100% of midlatitude cores. Subsurface maxima in Hg depositional fluxes (microg m(-2) y(-1)) were observed in only 28% of midlatitude lakes and 18% of arctic lakes, indicating little recent reduction of inputs. Anthropogenic Hg fluxes adjusted for sediment focusing and changes in sedimentation rates (deltaF(adj,F)) ranged from -22.9 to 61 microg m(-2) y(-1) and were negatively correlated (r = -0.57, P < 0.001) with latitude. Hg flux ratios (FRs; post-1990)/pre-1850) ranged from 0.5 to 7.7. The latitudinal trend for Hg deltaF(adj,F) values showed excellent agreement with predictions of the global mercury model, GRAHM for the geographic location of each lake (r = 0.933, P < 0.001). The results are consistent with a scenario of slow atmospheric oxidation of mercury, and slow deposition of reactive mercury emissions, declining with increasing latitude away from emission sources in the midlatitudes, and support the view that there are significant anthropogenic Hg inputs in the Arctic.

[1]  J. Smol,et al.  Factors influencing the achievement of steady state in mercury contamination among lakes and catchments of south-central Ontario , 2009 .

[2]  N. Theys,et al.  Modeling dynamic exchange of gaseous elemental mercury at polar sunrise. , 2008, Environmental science & technology.

[3]  E. Steinnes,et al.  Transport of Hg from Atmospheric mercury depletion events to the mainland of Norway and its possible influence on Hg deposition , 2008 .

[4]  I. Renberg,et al.  Carbon and nitrogen loss rates during aging of lake sediment: Changes over 27 years studied in varved lake sediment , 2008 .

[5]  D. Muir,et al.  Evidence for mass-independent and mass-dependent fractionation of the stable isotopes of mercury by natural processes in aquatic ecosystems , 2008 .

[6]  D. Engstrom,et al.  History of mercury inputs to Minnesota lakes: Influences of watershed disturbance and localized atmospheric deposition , 2007 .

[7]  Tianrong He,et al.  Horizontal and vertical variability of mercury species in pore water and sediments in small lakes in Ontario. , 2007, The Science of the total environment.

[8]  Andrew Heyes,et al.  Whole-ecosystem study shows rapid fish-mercury response to changes in mercury deposition , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[9]  P. Blanchard,et al.  Trend, seasonal and multivariate analysis study of total gaseous mercury data from the Canadian atmospheric mercury measurement network (CAMNet) , 2007 .

[10]  John P. Smol,et al.  Crossing the final ecological threshold in high Arctic ponds , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[11]  P. Hamilton,et al.  Evidence for control of mercury accumulation rates in Canadian High Arctic lake sediments by variations of aquatic primary productivity. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[12]  D. Engstrom,et al.  Modeling the past atmospheric deposition of mercury using natural archives. , 2007, Environmental science & technology.

[13]  P. Constant,et al.  Fate of inorganic mercury and methyl mercury within the snow cover in the low arctic tundra on the shore of Hudson Bay (Québec, Canada) , 2007 .

[14]  D. Wen,et al.  Modeling of mercury emission, transport and deposition in North America , 2007 .

[15]  Nicola Pirrone,et al.  A Synthesis of Progress and Uncertainties in Attributing the Sources of Mercury in Deposition , 2007, Ambio.

[16]  Marc Lucotte,et al.  Recovery of Mercury-Contaminated Fisheries , 2007, Ambio.

[17]  H. Skov,et al.  The mass balance of mercury in the springtime arctic environment , 2006 .

[18]  Simon Wilson,et al.  Global anthropogenic mercury emission inventory for 2000 , 2006 .

[19]  I. Renberg,et al.  Natural fluctuations of mercury and lead in Greenland lake sediments. , 2006, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  K. Kidd,et al.  A history of total mercury in edible muscle of fish from lakes in northern Canada. , 2005, The Science of the total environment.

[21]  D. Fisher,et al.  Predominance of industrial Pb in recent snow (1994–2004) and ice (1842–1996) from Devon Island, Arctic Canada , 2005 .

[22]  W. L. Lockhart,et al.  Trace metal profiles in the varved sediment of an Arctic lake , 2005 .

[23]  M. Sharp,et al.  Some sources and sinks of monomethyl and inorganic mercury on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian High Arctic. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[24]  Charles T. Driscoll,et al.  Deconstruction of Historic Mercury Accumulation in Lake Sediments, Northeastern United States , 2005, Ecotoxicology.

[25]  Laurier Poissant,et al.  Estimation and Mapping of Wet and Dry Mercury Deposition Across Northeastern North America , 2005, Ecotoxicology.

[26]  D. Engstrom,et al.  Modern and historic atmospheric mercury fluxes in northern Alaska: Global sources and Arctic depletion. , 2005, Environmental science & technology.

[27]  N. Pearce,et al.  Temporal trends , 2005 .

[28]  L. M. Frohn,et al.  Modelling of Mercury in the Arctic with the Danish Eulerian Hemispheric Model , 2004 .

[29]  Charles Gobeil,et al.  Modeling diagenesis of lead in sediments of a Canadian Shield lake , 2004 .

[30]  D. Muir,et al.  Historical variations in the stable isotope composition of mercury in Arctic lake sediments. , 2004, Environmental science & technology.

[31]  A. P. Wolfe,et al.  Geochronology of high latitude lake sediments , 2004 .

[32]  A. Dastoor,et al.  Global circulation of atmospheric mercury: a modelling study , 2004 .

[33]  J. Smol,et al.  Diatom response to recent climatic change in a high arctic lake (Char Lake, Cornwallis Island, Nunavut) , 2003 .

[34]  D. Engstrom,et al.  Modern and historic atmospheric mercury fluxes in both hemispheres: Global and regional mercury cycling implications , 2002 .

[35]  T. J. Leiker,et al.  Contaminants in Arctic Snow Collected over Northwest Alaskan Sea Ice , 2002 .

[36]  D. Engstrom,et al.  Historical and present fluxes of mercury to Vermont and New Hampshire lakes inferred from 210Pb dated sediment cores , 2002 .

[37]  D. F. Grigal.  Inputs and outputs of mercury from terrestrial watersheds: a review , 2002 .

[38]  I. Renberg,et al.  Mercury accumulation rates and spatial patterns in lake sediments from west Greenland: a coast to ice margin transect. , 2001, Environmental science & technology.

[39]  P M Outridge,et al.  Tests of the fidelity of lake sediment core records of mercury deposition to known histories of mercury contamination. , 2000, The Science of the total environment.

[40]  C. Driscoll,et al.  Historical trends of mercury deposition in Adirondack lakes , 1999 .

[41]  C. Boutron,et al.  A forty year record of Mercury in central Greenland snow , 1998 .

[42]  P. Wilkinson,et al.  Fluxes of mercury to lake sediments in central and northern Canada inferred from dated sediment cores , 1998 .

[43]  D. Landers,et al.  Using lake sediment mercury flux ratios to evaluate the regional and continental dimensions of mercury deposition in arctic and boreal ecosystems , 1998 .

[44]  William F. Fitzgerald,et al.  The Case for Atmospheric Mercury Contamination in Remote Areas , 1998 .

[45]  D. Engstrom,et al.  Recent Declines in Atmospheric Mercury Deposition in the Upper Midwest , 1997 .

[46]  N. Preiss,et al.  A compilation of data on lead 210 concentration in surface air and fluxes at the air‐surface and water‐sediment interfaces , 1996 .

[47]  P. Wilkinson,et al.  Spatial Trends and Historical Deposition of Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Canadian Midlatitude and Arctic Lake Sediments , 1996 .

[48]  C. Hillaire‐Marcel,et al.  Anthropogenic mercury enrichment in remote lakes of northern Québec (Canada) , 1995 .

[49]  Lawrence A. Baker,et al.  Environmental chemistry of lakes and reservoirs , 1994 .

[50]  D. Engstrom,et al.  Effects of iron cycling on 210Pb dating of sediments in an Adirondack lake, USA , 1990 .

[51]  M. Hermanson.  210Pb and 137Cs chronology of sediments from small, shallow Arctic lakes , 1990 .

[52]  R. Bourbonniere,et al.  Accumulation and diagenesis of chlorinated hydrocarbons in lacustrine sediments , 1989 .

[53]  J. Glew.  A portable extruding device for close interval sectioning of unconsolidated core samples , 1988 .

[54]  S. Norton,et al.  137Cs and 210Pb dating of sediments from soft-water lakes in New England (U.S.A.) and Scandinavia, a failure of 137Cs dating , 1984 .

[55]  A. Andren,et al.  Relationships between Pb and 210Pb in aerosol and precipitation at a Semiremote Site in northern Wisconsin , 1983 .

[56]  R. Morrison,et al.  A new procedure for the determination of lead-210 in lake and marine sediments , 1978 .

[57]  D. DeMaster,et al.  Atmospheric 210Pb fluxes determined from soil profiles , 1978 .

[58]  Karl K. Turekian,et al.  Geochemistry of atmospheric radon and radon products , 1977 .

[59]  R. Brinkhurst,et al.  Modifications in Sampling Procedures as Applied to Studies on the Bacteria and Tubificid Oligochaetes Inhabiting Aquatic Sediments , 1969 .