Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Response of mercury accumulation to anthropogenic pollution in the past 1000 years based on Lake Huguangyan sediments, Southern China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Environmental Geochemistry and Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A new 210Pb-dated record of Hg accumulation derived from a sediment core from a Hg-enriched area in Huguangyan Lake (HGY) in South China is presented. Based on synthetic analyses of multi-proxy records including chemical composition, total organic matter, and grain-size distribution in surface sediments and nearby soil samples, it is inferred that the influx of Hg into the lake is mainly a result of atmospheric deposition, with no or minor hydroclimate-induced lithogenic input from the catchment and limited adsorption effects of organic matter and clay. Significantly enhanced anthropogenic input of Hg started in the early 1900s. Since then, several anomalies of Hg accumulation have been the results of wars or intensified economic activities in China. HGY sediments provide a rare and reliable natural archive for detecting atmospheric Hg deposition, which is closely related to anthropogenic activities.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

Availability of data and material

Data will be provided from the authors upon request.

Code availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Agnieszka, J., Magdalena, B., & Marcelina, Z. (2019). The role of benthic macrofauna in the trophic transfer of mercury in a low-diversity temperate coastal ecosystem (Puck Lagoon, southern Baltic Sea). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 191, 137.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Amos, H. M., Jacob, D. J., & Holmes, C. D. (2012). Gas-particle partitioning of atmospheric Hg (II) and its effect on global mercury deposition. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 12, 591–603.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Appleby, P. G. (2004). Environmental change and atmospheric contamination on Svalbard: Sediment chronology. Journal of Paleolimnology, 31, 433–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Appleby, P. G., Nolan, P. J., Gifford, D. W., Godfrey, M. J., Oldfield, F., Anderson, N. J., et al. (1986). 210 pb dating by low background gamma counting. Hydrobiologia, 143(1), 21–27.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ashokkumar, R., Srinivasalu, S., Jayaprakash, M., & Gopal, V. (2016). Geochemical weathering indices of core sediments from the off-Cuddalore Region, Tamil Nadu, India. International Journal of Earth Sciences and Engineering, 08(1), 43–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Biester, H., Bindler, R., Martinez-Cortizas, A., & Engstrom, D. R. (2007). Critical review: modelling the past atmospheric deposition of mercury using natural archives. Environmental Science and Technology., 41, 4851–4860.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Birks, H. J. B., Jones, V. J., & Rose, N. L. (2004). Recent environmental change and atmospheric contamination on svalbard as recorded in lake sediments: An introduction. Journal of Paleolimnology., 31(4), 403–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boës, X., Rydberg, J., Martínez-Cortizas, A., Bindler, R., & Renberg, I. (2011). Evaluation of conservative lithogenic elements (Ti, Zr, AlandRb) to study anthropogenic element enrichments in lake sediments. Journal of Paleolimnology, 46, 75–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bookman, R., Driscoll, C. T., Effler, S. W., & Engstrom, D. R. (2010). Anthropogenic impacts recorded in recent sediments from Otisco Lake, New York, USA. Journal of Paleolimnology, 43, 449–462.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brazeau, M. L., Poulain, A. J., & Paterson, A. M. (2013). Recent changes in mercury deposition and primary productivity inferred from sediments of lakes from the Hudson Bay Lowlands, Ontario, Canada. Environmental Pollution, 173, 52–60.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carrie, J., Sanei, H., Goodarzi, F., Stern, G., & Wang, F. Y. (2009). Characterization of organic matter in surface sediments of the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada. International Journal of Coal Geology, 77, 416–423.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, G. Q., Liu, J. Q., Sun, Q., Lu, H. Y., Gu, Z. Y., Wang, W. Y., & Liu, T. S. (2002). The “Mediaeval Warm Period” drought recorded in Lake Huguangyan, tropical South China. Holocene, 12, 511–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu, G., Sun, Q., Zhu, Q., Shan, Y., Shang, W., Ling, Y., Su, Y., Xie, M., Wang, X., & Liu, J. (2017). The role of the Asian winter monsoon in the rapid propagation of abrupt climate changes during the last deglaciation. Quaternary Science Reviews, 177, 120–129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conaway, C. H., Swarzenski, P. W., & Cohen, A. S. (2012). Recent paleorecords document rising mercury contamination in Lake Tanganyika. Applied Geochemistry, 27, 352–359.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Demers, J. D., Blum, J. D., & Zak, D. R. (2013). Mercury isotopes in a forested ecosystem: Implications for air-surface exchange dynamics and the global mercury cycle. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 27, 222–238.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll, C. T., Blette, V., Yan, C., Schofield, C. L., Munson, R., & Holsapple, J. (1995). The role of dissolved organic carbon in the chemistry and bioavailability of mercury in remote Adirondack lakes. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 80, 499–508.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duan, Z., Liu, Q., Yang, X., Gao, X., & Su, Y. (2014). Magnetism of the Huguangyan Maar Lake sediments, Southeast China and its paleoenvironmental implications. Palaeogeography Palaeoclimatology Palaeoecology, 395, 158–167.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Engstrom, D. R., Balogh, S. J., & Swain, E. B. (2007). History of mercury inputs to Minnesota lakes: Influences of watershed disturbance and localized atmosphericde position. Limnology and Oceanography, 52, 2467–2483.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Engstrom, D. R., Fitzgerald, W. F., & Cooke, C. A. (2014). Atmospheric Hg emissions from preindustrial gold and silver extraction in the Americas: A reevaluation from lake-sediment archives. Environmental Science and Technology, 48, 6533–6543.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ericksen, J. A., Gustin, M. S., Schorran, D. E., & Johnson, D. W. (2003). Accumulation of atmospheric mercury in forest foliage. Atmospheric Environment, 37, 1613–1622.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feng, X. B., Bai, W. Y., Shang, L. H., He, T. R., Qiu, G. L., & Yan, H. Y. (2011). Mercury speciation and distribution in Aha Reservoir which was contaminated by coal mining activities in Guiyang, Guizhou, China. Applied Geochemistry, 26, 213–221.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, W. F. (1995). Is mercury increasing in the atmosphere? The need for an atmospheric mercury network (AMNET). Water Air and Soil Pollution, 80, 245–254.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, W. F., Engstrom, D. R., Mason, R. P., & Nater, E. A. (1998). The case for atmospheric mercury contamination in remote areas. Environment Science and Technology, 32, 1–7.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fitzgerald, W. F., Engstrom, D. R., Lamborg, C. H., Tseng, C. M., Balcom, P. H., & Hammerschmidt, C. R. (2005). Modern and historic atmospheric mercury fluxes in northern Alaska: Global sources and Arctic depletion. Environment Science and Technology, 39, 557–568.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhrmann, A., Mingram, J., Lucke, A., Lu, H. Y., Horsfield, B., Liu, J. Q., Negendank, J. F. W., Schleser, G. H., & Wilkes, H. (2003). Variations in organic matter composition in sediments from Lake Huguang Maar (Huguangyan), South China during the last 68 ka: implications for environmental and climatic change. Organic Geochemistry, 34, 1497–1515.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, Y., Xu, S., Guo, Q., & Zhang, M. (1962). Monsoon region and regional climate in China. In Y. Gao & S. Xu (Eds.), Some problems of East Asian Monsoon (pp. 49–63). Science Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graydon, J. A., Louis, V. L. S., & Lindberg, S. E. (2006). Investigation of mercury exchange between forest canopy vegetation and the atmosphere using a new dynamic chamber. Environment Science and Technology, 40(15), 4680–4688.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Graydon, J., Louis, V. L. S., Hintelmann, H., Lindberg, S., Sandilands, K., Rudd, J., Kelly, C., Hall, B., & Mowat, L. (2008). Long-term wet and dry deposition of total and methyl mercury in the remote boreal ecoregion of Canada. Environment Science and Technology, 42, 8345–8351.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hao, L., Sun, L., Zhao, Y., & Lu, J. (2013). Sedimentary records of evolution of heavy metals in Songhua Lake, Northeast China. Clean-Soil Air Water, 41, 1010–1017.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hermanns, Y. M., & Biester, H. (2013). A 17300-year record of mercury accumulation in a pristine lake in southern Chile. Journal of Paleolimnology, 49, 547–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hintelmann, H. R., Harris, A., Heyes, J., Hurley, P., Kelly, D., Krabbenhoft, S., Lindberg, J., Rudd, W. M., Scott, K. J., & Louis, S. (2002). Reactivity and mobility of new and old mercury deposition in a boreal forest ecosystem during the first year of the METAALICUS study. Environment Science and Technology, 36, 5034–5040.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horowitz, H. M., Jacob, D. J., Amos, H. M., et al. (2014). Historical Mercury releases from commercial products: Global environmental implications. Environment Science and Technology, 48(17), 10242–10250.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson, T. A. (1997). Long-range atmospheric transport of mercury to ecosystems, and the importance of anthropogenic emissions-a critical review and evaluation of the published evidence. Environment Reviews, 5, 99–120.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Janssens, J. A. (1983). A quantitative method for stratigraphic analysis of bryophytes in Holocene peat. Journal of Ecology, 171, 189–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, S., Huang, J., & Wang, F. (2016). Atmospheric mercury depositional chronology reconstructed from lake sediment and ice cores in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. Environment Science and Technology, 50, 2859–2869.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lamborg, C. H., Fitzgerald, W. F., Dammann, A. W. H., Benoit, J. M., Balcom, P. H., & Engstrom, D. R. (2002). Modern and historic atmospheric mercury fluxes in both hemispheres: Gobal and regional mercury cycling implications. Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 16, 1104–1115.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, H. B., Yu, S., Li, G. L., Deng, H., Xu, B., Ding, J., Gao, J. B., Hong, Y. W., & Wong, M. H. (2013). Spatial distribution and historical records of mercury sedimentation in urban lakes under urbanization impacts. Science of the Total Environment, 445, 117–125.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li, Y. P., Ma, C. M., & Zhu, C. (2016). Historical anthropogenic contributions to mercury accumulation recorded by a peat core from Dajiuhu montane mire, central China. Environmental Pollution, 216, 332–339.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindqvist, O., Johansson, K., Aastrup, M., Andersson, A., Bringmark, L., Hovsenius, G., Hakanson, L., & Iverfeldt, A. (1991). Mercury in Swedish environment: Recent research on causes consequences and corrective methods. Water Air and Soil Pollution, 55, 23–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, D. S., Liu, J. Q., & Lu, H. Y. (1998). Progress in high-resolution paleoenvironment research from Maar Lake. Quaternary Science Reviews, 4, 289–296. (in Chinese).

    Google Scholar 

  • Mao, H., Ye, Z., & Driscoll, C. (2017). Meteorological effects on hg wet deposition in a forested site in the Adirondack region of New York during 2000–2015. Atmospheric Environment, 168, 90–100.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mingram, J., Schettler, G., Nowaczyk, N., Luo, X. J., Lu, H. Y., Liu, J. Q., & Negendank, J. F. W. (2004). The Huguang maar lake: A high-resolution record of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic changes over the last 78,000 years from South China. Quaternary International, 122, 85–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mowat, L. D., Louis, V. L. S., Graydon, J. A., & Lehnherr, I. (2011). Influence of forest canopies on the deposition of methylmercury to boreal ecosystem watersheds. Environmental Science and Technology, 45, 5178–5185.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Norton, S. A., Jacobson, G. L., Kopacek, J., & Tomas, N. (2015). A comparative study of long-term Hg and Pb sediment archives. Environmental Chemistry, 13, 517–527.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Obrist, D., Agnan, Y., & Jiskra, M. (2007). Tundra uptake of atmospheric elemental mercury drives Arctic mercury pollution. Nature, 547, 201–204.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Obrist, D., Kirk, J. L., Zhang, L., Sunderland, E. M., Jiskra, M., & Selin, N. E. (2018). A review of global environmental mercury processes in response to human and natural perturbations: Changes of emissions, climate, and land use. Ambio, 47, 116–140.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Perry, E., Norton, S. A., Kamman, N. C., Lorey, P. M., & Driscoll, C. T. (2005). Deconstruction of historic mercury accumulation in lake sediments, northeastern states. Ecotoxicology, 14, 85–99.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Price, J. R., & Velbel, M. A. (2003). Chemical weathering indices applied to weathering profiles developed on heterogeneous felsic metamorphic parent rocks. Chemical Geology, 202(3–4), 397–416.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roos-Barraclough, F., Martinez-Cortizas, A., García-Rodedja, E., & Shotyk, W. (2002). A 14500 year record of the accumulation of atmospheric mercury in peat: Volcanic signals, anthropogenic influences and a correlation to bromine accumulation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 202, 435–451.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Roos-Barraclough, F., Givelet, N., Cheburkin, A. K., Shotyk, W., & Norton, S. A. (2006). Use of Br and se in peat to reconstruct the natural and anthropogenic fluxes of atmospheric hg: a 10000-year record from Caribou bog, Maine. Environmental Science and Technology, 40, 3188–3194.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rydberg, J., Klaminder, J., Rosen, P., & Bindler, R. (2010). Climate driven release of carbon and mercury from permafrost mires increases mercury loading to sub-arctic lakes. Science of the Total Environment, 408, 4778–4783.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Saniewska, D., & Bełdowska, M. (2017). Mercury fractionation in soil and sediment samples using thermo-desorption method. Talanta, 168, 152–161.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi, J. B., Carman, C. M. I., Zhang, G., Jiang, G. B., & Li, X. D. (2010). Mercury profiles in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary and the surrounding coastal area of South China. Environmental Pollution, 158(5), 1974–1979.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Siqueira, G. W., Fabio, A., Georg, I., & Braga, E. S. (2018). Mercury in the amazon basin: Human influence or natural geological pattern? Journal of South American Earth Sciences, 86, 193–199.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stern, G. A., Sanei, H., Roach, P., Delaronde, J., & Outridge, P. M. (2009). Historical interrelated variations of mercury and aquatic organic matter in lake sediment cores from a subarctic lake in Yukon, Canada: Further evidence toward the algalmercury scavenging hypothesis. Environmental Science and Technology, 43, 7684–7690.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Streets, D. G., Devane, M. K., Lu, Z., Bond, T. C., Sunderland, E. M., & Jacob, D. J. (2011). All-time releases of mercury to the atmosphere from human activities. Environmental Science and Technology, 45, 10485–10491.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Streets, D. G., Hao, J., Wu, Y., et al. (2005). Anthropogenic mercury emissions in China. Atmospheric Environment, 39(40), 7789–7806.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, Q. L., Wang, S. M., Zhou, J., Chen, Z. Y., Shen, J., Xie, X. P., Wu, F., & Chen, P. (2010). Sediment geochemistry of Lake Daihai, north-central China, implications for catchments weathering and climate change during the Holocene. Journal of Paleolimnology, 43, 75–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teisserenc, R., Lucotte, M., & Houel, S. (2011). Terrestrial organic matter biomarkers as tracers of Hg sources in lake sediments. Biogeochemistry, 103, 235–244.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, X. S., Chu, G. Q., Sheng, M., Zhang, S. Q., Li, J. H., Chen, Y., Tang, L., Su, Y. L., PeiJ, L., & Yang, Z. Y. (2016). Millennial-scale Asian summer monsoon variations in South China since the last deglaciation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 451, 22–30.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Weiss, D., Shotyk, W., Appleby, P. G., Kramers, J. D., & Cheburkin, A. K. (1999). Atmospheric Pb deposition since the industrial revolution recorded by five Swiss peat profiles: Enrichment factors, fluxes, isotopic composition, and sources. Environmental Science and Technology, 33, 1340–1352.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xia, K. (1999). X-ray absorption spectroscopic evidence for the complexation of Hg (II) by reduced sulfur in soil humic substances. Environmental Science and Technology, 33, 257–261.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, H., & Rose, N. (2003). Distribution of mercury in six lake sediment cores across the UK. Science of the Total Environment., 36, 1383–1388.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, H., & Smyntek, P. (2014). Use of the mercury record in Red Tarn sediments to reveal air pollution history and the implications of catchment erosion. Environ. Sci. Process Impacts, 16, 2554–2563.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, H., Turner, S., & Rose, N. L. (2016). Mercury pollution in the lake sediments and catchment soils of anthropogenically-disturbed sites across England. Environmental Pollution, 219, 1092–1101.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, Y., Chen, J. A., Zhu, Z. J., Li, J., Wang, J. F., & Wan, G. J. (2012). The wet Little Ice Age recorded by sediments in Huguangyan Lake, tropical South China. Quaternary International, 263, 55–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeng, Y., Chen, J., Yang, Y., & Wang, J. (2017). Huguangyan Maar Lake (SE China): A solid record of atmospheric mercury pollution history in a non-remote region. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 147, 1–8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, H., Zhang, N., & Zhong, L. (2011). A 1955–2004 record of Hg contamination in Dianshan Lake sediments, Shanghai. Environmental Chemistry Letters, 9(4), 479–484.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, K. N. (1984). The evolution in extracting hg from cinnabar and related achievements in chemistry in ancient China. Historical Studies in the Natural Sciences, 3, 11–23.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Bing Liu, Lixue Tian, Susu Ye, and Xiaowen Tang for their help in field investigation and laboratory measurements. We are grateful to two anonymous reviewers and the editor for their valuable and constructive comments. This work was supported by the NSF of China (Grant Nos. 41971101, 41571187 and 41071137), and the Fund of Scientific innovation and cultivation in Climbing Program for college student of Guangdong Province (Grant No. Pdjh2020b0169). Thanks are also given to Mogoedit for its linguistic assistance during the preparation of this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geography Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Tianhang Li, Wei Zhong, Shengtan Shang, Yuanhan Chen, Junyu Pan & Xiaojun Wang

  2. Zhuhai Branch of State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai, 519087, China

    Zhiqiang Wei

  3. Guangdong Center for Marine Development Research, Guangzhou, 510220, China

    Susu Ye

Authors
  1. Tianhang Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wei Zhong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Zhiqiang Wei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shengtan Shang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Susu Ye
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Yuanhan Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Junyu Pan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Xiaojun Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Tianhang Li and Wei Zhong organized this study, including conception of the study, sampling, measurement and manuscript writing. Zhiqiang Wei, Shengtan Shang and Susu Ye took part in sampling, performed the experiment and contributed significantly to analysis and manuscript preparation. Yuanhan Chen and Junyu Pan helped perform the analysis and the preparation of the manuscript in format and citations. Xiaojun Wang helped perform the analysis with constructive discussions.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Wei Zhong.

Ethics declarations

Conflicts of interest

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article. Manuscript is approved by all authors for publication.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Animal research

Not applicable.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Li, T., Zhong, W., Wei, Z. et al. Response of mercury accumulation to anthropogenic pollution in the past 1000 years based on Lake Huguangyan sediments, Southern China. Environ Geochem Health 43, 3921–3933 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00878-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00878-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation