| Title | Anthropogenic influences on mercury in Chinese soil and sediment revealed by relationships with total organic carbon |
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| Author | Xue, W; Kwon, S Y; Grasby, S E ; Sunderland, E M; Pan, X; Sun, R; Zhou, T; Yan, H; Yin, R |
| Source | Environmental Pollution vol. 255, pt. 1, 113186, 2019 p. 1-8, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113186 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2019 |
| Alt Series | Natural Resources Canada, Contribution Series 20190608 |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf; html |
| Area | China |
| Lat/Long WENS | 80.0000 135.0000 50.0000 15.0000 |
| Subjects | Science and Technology; sedimentology; mercury |
| Illustrations | location maps; diagrams; cross-plots |
| Program | GEM2: Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals Western Arctic, High Arctic LIP |
| Released | 2019 09 05 |
| Abstract | Rapid industrialization has led to high levels of mercury (Hg) releases from anthropogenic sources in China. When deposited to terrestrial ecosystems, Hg has a high affinity for natural organic carbon.
This means that Hg concentrations will vary naturally as a function of the total organic carbon (TOC) content of different soils and sediment. Thus, Hg to TOC ratios in topsoil and surface sediment provides a useful normalized tracer of the
anthropogenic impact on Hg contamination. We compiled literature-documented Hg and total organic carbon (TOC) data for topsoil (n=957) and surface sediment (n=1142) in China. Topsoil samples (n=100) were also collected in this study to broaden the
spatial coverage. We found large differences in Hg:TOC ratios among topsoil from background sites, agricultural and urban areas, and mining sites and surface sediment from fluvial, coastal, and marine environments. Specifically, a significant
increase in Hg:TOC ratios occurred between soils from background sites (median: Hg:TOC=21.1; Inter-Quartile Range (IQR): 9.67 to 40.7) and agricultural areas (median: 34.1; IQR: 22.1 to 58.7), urban areas (median: 62.1ng/g; IQR: 34.2 to 154) and
mining sites (median: 2780; range: 181 to 43500). Urban and mining sites show the largest increase in Hg:TOC ratios, reflecting elevated anthropogenic Hg inputs in these areas. Fluvial sediment showed higher Hg:TOC ratios (median: 197; IQR: 109 to
389) than coastal (median: 88.3; IQR: 46.8 to 168) and marine sediment (median: 89.7; IQR: 53 to 138), indicating decreased anthropogenic Hg input from rivers to coastal and marine regions. Results of our study suggest Hg:TOC ratios are a useful
normalized indicator of the influence of anthropogenic Hg releases on Hg enrichment in topsoil and surface sediment. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
This work applies methodology for tracking mercury in the environment to a study of highly industrialized regions to assess anthropocentric mercury
release to the environment. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 322172 |
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