Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland
Seabirds are globally recognized vectors of marine-derived materials, which get deposited on land at their breeding colonies, potentially altering local soil chemistry. We studied mercury (Hg) in soil cores on two islands in west Iceland that host thousands of nesting seabirds, predicting that Hg su...
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The Arctic Institute of North America
2023
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic76992 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/76992/56599 |
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crarcticinstna:10.14430/arctic76992 2024-06-09T07:42:11+00:00 Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland Mallory, Mark L. Petersen, Aevar Thorstensen, Sverrir Spooner, Ian O'Driscoll, Nelson J. Baak, Julia E. McIntyre, Jessie A. 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic76992 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/76992/56599 unknown The Arctic Institute of North America http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ARCTIC volume 76, issue 1, page 48-59 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 journal-article 2023 crarcticinstna https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic76992 2024-05-14T12:53:42Z Seabirds are globally recognized vectors of marine-derived materials, which get deposited on land at their breeding colonies, potentially altering local soil chemistry. We studied mercury (Hg) in soil cores on two islands in west Iceland that host thousands of nesting seabirds, predicting that Hg subsidies from nesting birds would result in elevated Hg in local soils. However, despite clear evidence from nitrogen isotopes of marine influence (seabird faeces) on coastal soil cores, O horizon Hg concentrations averaged 223 nanograms per gram (ng/g), were similar between reference and seabird-nesting sites, and were within the range of soils elsewhere in Europe and the Arctic. The concentration of Hg declined for samples deeper in the core, mirroring declines in organic content and concomitant increases in stable isotopes of nitrogen. A more detailed analysis of local pedogenic processes is required to determine the relative contribution of lithogenic, atmospheric, and anthropogenic Hg, but our data do not suggest that seabirds are markedly increasing local soil Hg through ornithogenic subsidies. Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Iceland Arctic Institute of North America Arctic ARCTIC 76 1 48 59 |
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Arctic Institute of North America |
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crarcticinstna |
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Seabirds are globally recognized vectors of marine-derived materials, which get deposited on land at their breeding colonies, potentially altering local soil chemistry. We studied mercury (Hg) in soil cores on two islands in west Iceland that host thousands of nesting seabirds, predicting that Hg subsidies from nesting birds would result in elevated Hg in local soils. However, despite clear evidence from nitrogen isotopes of marine influence (seabird faeces) on coastal soil cores, O horizon Hg concentrations averaged 223 nanograms per gram (ng/g), were similar between reference and seabird-nesting sites, and were within the range of soils elsewhere in Europe and the Arctic. The concentration of Hg declined for samples deeper in the core, mirroring declines in organic content and concomitant increases in stable isotopes of nitrogen. A more detailed analysis of local pedogenic processes is required to determine the relative contribution of lithogenic, atmospheric, and anthropogenic Hg, but our data do not suggest that seabirds are markedly increasing local soil Hg through ornithogenic subsidies. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Mallory, Mark L. Petersen, Aevar Thorstensen, Sverrir Spooner, Ian O'Driscoll, Nelson J. Baak, Julia E. McIntyre, Jessie A. |
spellingShingle |
Mallory, Mark L. Petersen, Aevar Thorstensen, Sverrir Spooner, Ian O'Driscoll, Nelson J. Baak, Julia E. McIntyre, Jessie A. Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland |
author_facet |
Mallory, Mark L. Petersen, Aevar Thorstensen, Sverrir Spooner, Ian O'Driscoll, Nelson J. Baak, Julia E. McIntyre, Jessie A. |
author_sort |
Mallory, Mark L. |
title |
Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland |
title_short |
Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland |
title_full |
Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury in Soils of Seabird Nesting Islands in West Iceland |
title_sort |
mercury in soils of seabird nesting islands in west iceland |
publisher |
The Arctic Institute of North America |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.14430/arctic76992 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/download/76992/56599 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Iceland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Iceland |
op_source |
ARCTIC volume 76, issue 1, page 48-59 ISSN 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.14430/arctic76992 |
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ARCTIC |
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76 |
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48 |
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59 |
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1801371082569023488 |