Abstract
To determine the significance of mercury contamination of remote lakes in three regions of south-central Ontario, Canada, sediment cores were collected at several stations in each of fourteen lakes. Profiles of Hg concentration with depth were similar to those found in many parts of the world and indicate a substantial increase in Hg loading to these lakes in recent decades. Surficial sediment concentrations (0–2 cm) ranged from 120 to 700 ng/g dry matter.
Whole-lake burdens of Hg, used to determine the source of the contamination, were similar for all lakes in the study. The average anthropogenic component of the burden for all lakes was 0.79 mg/m2. This amount represents approximately one-half of the total burden in the sediments. There was a relationship between the size of a lake's catchment and the whole-lake burden of Hg in lakes in one region of the study area but not the remaining lakes. It is concluded that the major source of the Hg in the study lakes is atmospheric deposition of material originating from outside the catchments and that the contribution from catchment washout is variable.
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Evans, R.D. Sources of mercury contamination in the sediments of small headwater lakes in south-central Ontario, Canada. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 15, 505–512 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01056562
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01056562