Distribution pattern of mercury in northern Barents Sea and Eurasian Basin surface sediment

Marine sediment is a significant sink for the global pollutant mercury. In a rapidly changing Arctic region, mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in the marine ecosystem remains a prominent environmental issue. Here, we report surface sediment (0–2 cm) concentrations of Hg and other toxic elements of intere...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine Pollution Bulletin
Main Authors: Kohler, Stephen Gustav, Kull, Laura M., Heimbürger-Boavida, Lars-Eric, Ricardo de Freitas, Thaise, Sanchez, Nicolas, Ndungu, Kuria, Ardelan, Murat Van
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2022
Subjects:
Arctic
Barents Sea
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10852/100157
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2022.114272
Description
Summary:Marine sediment is a significant sink for the global pollutant mercury. In a rapidly changing Arctic region, mercury (Hg) bioaccumulation in the marine ecosystem remains a prominent environmental issue. Here, we report surface sediment (0–2 cm) concentrations of Hg and other toxic elements of interest (Cr, Ni, Zn, Cu, As, Cd, Pb) in the northern Barents Sea and Eurasian Basin. We observed average Hg concentrations of 65 ± 23 ng/g with the highest concentration of 116 ng/g in the Eurasian Basin. Our calculated enrichment factors suggest low anthropogenic enrichment for mercury, chromium, nickel, and copper. Mercury and trace element geographic patterns are best explained by the origin and transportation of fine grain sediment towards the Eurasian Basin, with scavenging by both particulate organic carbon and metal oxides as significant delivery mechanisms.

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