Russian river total suspended solids (TSS), mercury in TSS, and drivers of long-term trends, 1974-2018

• Main Authors: Zolkos, Scott, Zhulidov, Alexander V., Gurtovaya, Tatiana Yu.
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: NSF Arctic Data Center 2022
• Subjects: mercury; sediment; Arctic; river; flux; long-term; Arctic Basin
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.18739/a2dz0331m; https://arcticdata.io/catalog/view/doi:10.18739/A2DZ0331M

This project investigates long-term trends in total suspended solids (TSS) and mercury in TSS (i.e., particulate mercury, PHg) from 1974–2018 in eight major Russian rivers within the pan-Arctic watershed. River water samples were collected approximately monthly from the near-surface (0–0.5 m) and processed following clean techniques for analysis of trace metals. Laboratory procedures followed standard methods and were consistent through the duration of the study. Measurements of TSS and PHg concentration together with published observations on daily river discharge were used to estimate annual TSS and PHg concentrations and flux magnitudes, and the trends of each, using the United States Geological Survey weighted regressions on time, discharge, and season (WRTDS) modeling approach (Hirsch et al., 2010; doi:10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00482.x). Full methodological details, including statistical analyses and quality-assurance / quality-control, can be found in the manuscript associated with these data: "Multi-decadal declines in particulate mercury and sediment export from Russian rivers in the pan-Arctic basin", by Scott Zolkos et al.