Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost
We determine Hg concentrations of various deposits in Siberia’s deep permafrost and link sediment properties and Hg enrichment to establish a first Hg inventory of late Pleistocene permafrost down to a depth of 36 m below surface. As Arctic warming is transforming the ice-rich permafrost of Siberia,...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2021
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.718153 https://doaj.org/article/b0b02dfa4d1d468fbbdc3ba23e87c2db |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b0b02dfa4d1d468fbbdc3ba23e87c2db 2023-05-15T14:40:10+02:00 Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost Clara Rutkowski Josefine Lenz Andreas Lang Juliane Wolter Sibylle Mothes Thorsten Reemtsma Guido Grosse Mathias Ulrich Matthias Fuchs Lutz Schirrmeister Alexander Fedorov Mikhail Grigoriev Hugues Lantuit Jens Strauss 2021-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.718153 https://doaj.org/article/b0b02dfa4d1d468fbbdc3ba23e87c2db EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.718153/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2021.718153 https://doaj.org/article/b0b02dfa4d1d468fbbdc3ba23e87c2db Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 9 (2021) arctic pollutants heavy metal arctic warming polar regions Science Q article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.718153 2022-12-31T16:30:25Z We determine Hg concentrations of various deposits in Siberia’s deep permafrost and link sediment properties and Hg enrichment to establish a first Hg inventory of late Pleistocene permafrost down to a depth of 36 m below surface. As Arctic warming is transforming the ice-rich permafrost of Siberia, sediment is released and increases the flux of particulates to the Arctic shelf seas through thawing coasts, lakeshores, and river floodplains. Heavy metals within soils and sediments are also released and may increasingly enter Arctic waters and the biological food chain. High levels of mercury (Hg) have been reported from shallow soils across the Arctic. Rapid thawing is now mobilizing sediment from deeper strata, but so far little is known about Hg concentrations in deep permafrost. Here, forty-one samples from sediment successions at seven sites and of different states of permafrost degradation on Bykovsky Peninsula (northern Yakutian coast) and in the Yukechi Alas region (Central Yakutia) were analyzed for Hg, total carbon, total nitrogen, and total organic carbon as well as grain-size distribution, bulk density, and mass specific magnetic susceptibility. We show average Hg concentrations of 9.72 ± 9.28 μg kg−1 in the deep sediments, an amount comparable to the few previous Arctic studies existing, and a significant correlation of Hg content with total organic carbon, total nitrogen, grain-size distribution, and mass specific magnetic susceptibility. Hg concentrations are higher in the generally sandier sediments of the Bykovsky Peninsula than in the siltier sediments of the Yukechi Alas. The ratio of Hg to total organic carbon in this study is 2.57 g kg−1, including samples with very low carbon content. We conclude that many deep permafrost sediments, some of which have been frozen for millennia, contain elevated concentrations of Hg and the stock of Hg ready to be released by erosion is of significance for the Arctic ecosystem. The Hg mobilized may accumulate on the way to or in the shallow sea, and where it ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Ice Magnetic susceptibility permafrost Yakutia Siberia Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Frontiers in Earth Science 9 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
arctic pollutants heavy metal arctic warming polar regions Science Q |
spellingShingle |
arctic pollutants heavy metal arctic warming polar regions Science Q Clara Rutkowski Josefine Lenz Andreas Lang Juliane Wolter Sibylle Mothes Thorsten Reemtsma Guido Grosse Mathias Ulrich Matthias Fuchs Lutz Schirrmeister Alexander Fedorov Mikhail Grigoriev Hugues Lantuit Jens Strauss Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost |
topic_facet |
arctic pollutants heavy metal arctic warming polar regions Science Q |
description |
We determine Hg concentrations of various deposits in Siberia’s deep permafrost and link sediment properties and Hg enrichment to establish a first Hg inventory of late Pleistocene permafrost down to a depth of 36 m below surface. As Arctic warming is transforming the ice-rich permafrost of Siberia, sediment is released and increases the flux of particulates to the Arctic shelf seas through thawing coasts, lakeshores, and river floodplains. Heavy metals within soils and sediments are also released and may increasingly enter Arctic waters and the biological food chain. High levels of mercury (Hg) have been reported from shallow soils across the Arctic. Rapid thawing is now mobilizing sediment from deeper strata, but so far little is known about Hg concentrations in deep permafrost. Here, forty-one samples from sediment successions at seven sites and of different states of permafrost degradation on Bykovsky Peninsula (northern Yakutian coast) and in the Yukechi Alas region (Central Yakutia) were analyzed for Hg, total carbon, total nitrogen, and total organic carbon as well as grain-size distribution, bulk density, and mass specific magnetic susceptibility. We show average Hg concentrations of 9.72 ± 9.28 μg kg−1 in the deep sediments, an amount comparable to the few previous Arctic studies existing, and a significant correlation of Hg content with total organic carbon, total nitrogen, grain-size distribution, and mass specific magnetic susceptibility. Hg concentrations are higher in the generally sandier sediments of the Bykovsky Peninsula than in the siltier sediments of the Yukechi Alas. The ratio of Hg to total organic carbon in this study is 2.57 g kg−1, including samples with very low carbon content. We conclude that many deep permafrost sediments, some of which have been frozen for millennia, contain elevated concentrations of Hg and the stock of Hg ready to be released by erosion is of significance for the Arctic ecosystem. The Hg mobilized may accumulate on the way to or in the shallow sea, and where it ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Clara Rutkowski Josefine Lenz Andreas Lang Juliane Wolter Sibylle Mothes Thorsten Reemtsma Guido Grosse Mathias Ulrich Matthias Fuchs Lutz Schirrmeister Alexander Fedorov Mikhail Grigoriev Hugues Lantuit Jens Strauss |
author_facet |
Clara Rutkowski Josefine Lenz Andreas Lang Juliane Wolter Sibylle Mothes Thorsten Reemtsma Guido Grosse Mathias Ulrich Matthias Fuchs Lutz Schirrmeister Alexander Fedorov Mikhail Grigoriev Hugues Lantuit Jens Strauss |
author_sort |
Clara Rutkowski |
title |
Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost |
title_short |
Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost |
title_full |
Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost |
title_fullStr |
Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury in Sediment Core Samples From Deep Siberian Ice-Rich Permafrost |
title_sort |
mercury in sediment core samples from deep siberian ice-rich permafrost |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.718153 https://doaj.org/article/b0b02dfa4d1d468fbbdc3ba23e87c2db |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Ice Magnetic susceptibility permafrost Yakutia Siberia |
genre_facet |
Arctic Ice Magnetic susceptibility permafrost Yakutia Siberia |
op_source |
Frontiers in Earth Science, Vol 9 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2021.718153/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-6463 2296-6463 doi:10.3389/feart.2021.718153 https://doaj.org/article/b0b02dfa4d1d468fbbdc3ba23e87c2db |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2021.718153 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
container_volume |
9 |
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1766312067725262848 |