Speciation and bioavailability of mercury in well-mixed estuarine sediments

被引:122
作者
Sunderland, EM
Gobas, FAPC
Heyes, A
Branfireun, BA
Bayer, AK
Cranston, RE
Parsons, MB
机构
[1] US EPA, Off Res & Dev, Off Sci Policy, Washington, DC 20007 USA
[2] Simon Fraser Univ, Sch Resource & Environm Management, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
[3] Univ Maryland, Chesapeake Biol Lab, Ctr Environm Sci, Univ Syst Maryland, Solomons, MD 20688 USA
[4] Univ Toronto, Dept Geog, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada
[5] Geol Survey Canada, Bedford Inst Oceanog, Nat Resources Canada, Dartmouth, NS B2Y 4A2, Canada
关键词
methylmercury; estuaries; enrichment factor; sediment burial; Bay of Fundy;
D O I
10.1016/j.marchem.2004.02.021
中图分类号
O6 [化学];
学科分类号
0703 ;
摘要
Despite regulations controlling anthropogenic mercury sources in North America, high levels of mercury in coastal fish and shellfish are an ongoing problem in Maritime Canada and the Northeastern United States. This study presents sediment core data from a macrotidal estuary located at the mouth of the Bay of Fundy showing stratigraphic profiles of total and methylmercury concentrations and potential methylation rates measured using stable mercury isotopes. The results show that in contrast to the expected methylmercury profile typically observed in unmixed sediments, methylmercury production occurs throughout the estimated 15-cm-thick active surface layer of these well-mixed sediments. The resulting large reservoir of methylmercury in these sediments helps to explain why mercury concentrations in organisms in this system remain high despite emissions reductions. Current management policies should take into account the expected delay in the response time of well-mixed estuarine systems to declines in mercury loading, considering the greater reservoir of historic mercury available in these sediments that can potentially be converted to methylmercury and biomagnify in coastal food chains. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:91 / 105
页数:15
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