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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2023
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ftunivcalgaryojs:oai:journalhosting.ucalgary.ca:article/76992 2023-05-15T14:19:01+02:00 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. 2023-03-14 application/pdf https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76992 eng eng The Arctic Institute of North America https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76992/56599 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76992 Copyright (c) 2023 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ARCTIC; Vol. 76 No. 1 (2023): MARCH 1–111; 48-59 1923-1245 0004-0843 core loss on ignition isotope Arctic ornithogenic carotte perte par calcination Arctique ornithogénique info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion research-article 2023 ftunivcalgaryojs 2023-03-19T18:39:43Z 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. À l’échelle mondiale, les oiseaux de mer sont reconnus en tant que vecteurs de matières d’origine marine, celles-ci étant déposées à leurs colonies de nidification de la terre ferme, ce qui peut avoir pour effet de modifier la chimie du sol local. Nous avons étudié le mercure (Hg) se trouvant dans des carottes de sol de deux îles de l’ouest de l’Islande où nichent des milliers d’oiseaux de mer, prédisant que les bonifications en Hg des oiseaux nicheurs donneraient lieu à des taux de Hg élevés dans les sols locaux. Cependant, malgré la preuve évidente d’isotopes d’azote d’influence marine (déjections d’oiseaux de mer) dans les carottes de sol côtier, les concentrations de mercure de l’horizon O atteignaient en moyenne 223 nanogrammes par gramme (ng/g), étaient semblables entre le point de référence et les sites de nidification des oiseaux de mer, et se situaient dans la même gamme de sols que ceux se trouvant ailleurs en ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Arctic Arctic Arctique* Iceland University of Calgary Journal Hosting Arctic |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Calgary Journal Hosting |
op_collection_id |
ftunivcalgaryojs |
language |
English |
topic |
core loss on ignition isotope Arctic ornithogenic carotte perte par calcination Arctique ornithogénique |
spellingShingle |
core loss on ignition isotope Arctic ornithogenic carotte perte par calcination Arctique ornithogénique 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 |
topic_facet |
core loss on ignition isotope Arctic ornithogenic carotte perte par calcination Arctique ornithogénique |
description |
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. À l’échelle mondiale, les oiseaux de mer sont reconnus en tant que vecteurs de matières d’origine marine, celles-ci étant déposées à leurs colonies de nidification de la terre ferme, ce qui peut avoir pour effet de modifier la chimie du sol local. Nous avons étudié le mercure (Hg) se trouvant dans des carottes de sol de deux îles de l’ouest de l’Islande où nichent des milliers d’oiseaux de mer, prédisant que les bonifications en Hg des oiseaux nicheurs donneraient lieu à des taux de Hg élevés dans les sols locaux. Cependant, malgré la preuve évidente d’isotopes d’azote d’influence marine (déjections d’oiseaux de mer) dans les carottes de sol côtier, les concentrations de mercure de l’horizon O atteignaient en moyenne 223 nanogrammes par gramme (ng/g), étaient semblables entre le point de référence et les sites de nidification des oiseaux de mer, et se situaient dans la même gamme de sols que ceux se trouvant ailleurs en ... |
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. |
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 |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76992 |
geographic |
Arctic |
geographic_facet |
Arctic |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Iceland |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Arctique* Iceland |
op_source |
ARCTIC; Vol. 76 No. 1 (2023): MARCH 1–111; 48-59 1923-1245 0004-0843 |
op_relation |
https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76992/56599 https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/76992 |
op_rights |
Copyright (c) 2023 ARCTIC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
_version_ |
1766290556108931072 |