Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Variations in the isotopic composition of stable mercury isotopes in typical mangrove plants of the Jiulong estuary, SE China

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Variations in the composition of stable isotopes of mercury contained in tissues (root, stem, leaf, and hypocotyl or flower) of three typical mangrove plants (Kandelia candel, Aegiceras corniculata, and Bruguiera gymnorhiza), collected from the mangrove wetland of Jiulong estuary, SE China, were used to investigate the sources and transformation of mercury in the mangrove plants. Tissue samples from the plants were digested and mercury in the solution was pre-concentrated with purge-trap method and then analyzed by multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). The results showed that the mass dependent fractionation (MDF) of mercury ranged from −2.67 to −0.87 ‰ for δ 202Hg while the mass independent fractionation (MIF) of mercury isotopes ranged from −0.16 to 0.09 and −0.19 to 0.05 ‰ for Δ199Hg and Δ201Hg, respectively, relative to the standard NIST SRM 3133. The ratio of Δ199Hg/Δ201Hg was 0.991, indicating that the mercury had been photo-reduced before being accumulated in mangrove plants. Analyses of the data from MIF studies revealed that the major portion of the mercury measured in leaves (∼90 %) originated from the atmosphere while the source of over half of the mercury present in roots was the surficial sediment. This study, the first of its kind investigating the variations in isotopic composition of mercury in the tissues of mangrove plants, could be helpful to identify the source of mercury contamination in mangroves and understand the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the estuarine mangrove wetlands.

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

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Agoramoorthy G, Chen F-A, Hsu MJ (2008) Threat of heavy metal pollution in halophytic and mangrove plants of Tamil Nadu, India. Environ Pollut 155:320–326

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Barres JA, Sherman LS, Blum JD, Johnson KP, Keeler GJ, Douglas TA (2010) Mass-independent fractionation of mercury isotopes in Arctic snow driven by sunlight. Nat Geosci 3:173–177

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bergquist BA, Blum JD (2007) Mass-dependent and -independent fractionation of Hg isotopes by photoreduction in aquatic systems. Science 318:417–420

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bergquist RA, Blum JD (2009) The odds and evens of mercury isotopes: applications of mass-dependent and mass-independent isotope fractionation. Elements 5:353–357

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Biswas A, Blum JD, Bergquist BA, Keeler GJ, Xie Z (2008) Natural mercury isotope variation in coal deposits and organic soils. Environ Sci Technol 42:8303–8309

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blum JD, Bergquist BA (2007) Reporting of variations in the natural isotopic composition of mercury. Anal Bioanal Chem 388:353–359

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Blum JD, Sherman LS, Johnson MW (2014) Mercury isotopes in earth and environmental sciences. In: Jeanloz R (ed) Annual review of earth and planetary sciences, Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, vol 42. Annual Reviews, Palo Alto, pp. 249–269

    Google Scholar 

  • Buchachenko AL (2001) Magnetic isotope effect: nuclear spin control of chemical reactions. J Phys Chem A 105:9995–10011

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chatterjee M, Canario J, Sarkar SK, Branco V, Godhantaraman N, Bhattacharya BD, Bhattacharya A (2012) Biogeochemistry of mercury and methylmercury in sediment cores from Sundarban mangrove wetland, India—A UNESCO world heritage site. Environ Monit Assess 184:5239–5254

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen JB, Hintelmann H, Dimock B (2010) Chromatographic pre-concentration of Hg from dilute aqueous solutions for isotopic measurement by MC-ICP-MS. J Anal Atom Spectrom 25:1402–1409

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Demers JD, Blum JD, Zak DR (2013) Mercury isotopes in a forested ecosystem: implications for air-surface exchange dynamics and the global mercury cycle. Glob Biogeochem Cycle 27:222–238

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ding ZH, Liu JL, Li LQ, Lin HN, Wu H, Hu ZZ (2009) Distribution and speciation of mercury in surficial sediments from main mangrove wetlands in China. Mar Pollut Bull 58:1319–1325

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ding ZH, Liu JL, Li LQ, Lin HN, Wu H, Hu ZZ (2010) Distribution of Hg in mangrove plants and correlation with Hg speciation in sediments. Huan Jing Ke Xue 31:2234–2239

    Google Scholar 

  • Duan H, Gong Z, Yang S (2015): Online photochemical vapour generation of inorganic tin for inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection. J Anal Atom Spectrom

  • Enrico M, Roux GL, Marusczak N, Heimburger LE, Claustres A, Fu X, Sun R, Sonke JE (2016) Atmospheric mercury transfer to peat bogs dominated by gaseous elemental mercury dry deposition. Environ Sci Technol 50:2405–2412

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Estrade N, Carignan J, Sonke JE, Donard OFX (2009) Mercury isotope fractionation during liquid–vapor evaporation experiments. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 73:2693–2711

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fu XW, Heimburger LE, Sonke JE (2014) Collection of atmospheric gaseous mercury for stable isotope analysis using iodine- and chlorine-impregnated activated carbon traps. J Anal Atom Spectrom 29:841–852

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Galloway ME, Branfireun BA (2004) Mercury dynamics of a temperate forested wetland. Sci Total Environ 325:239–254

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gao YQ, Yuan DX, Lu BY, Sun LM, Lin HY, Huang SY (2016) Spatiotemporal distribution of mercury in core sediments of the mangrove ecosystem in Jiulongjiang estuary. J Appl Oceanogr 01:58–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehrke GE, Blum JD, Meyers PA (2009) The geochemical behavior and isotopic composition of Hg in a mid-Pleistocene western Mediterranean sapropel. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 73:1651–1665

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gehrke GE, Blum JD, Marvin-DiPasquale M (2011a) Sources of mercury to San Francisco Bay surface sediment as revealed by mercury stable isotopes. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 75:691–705

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gehrke GE, Blum JD, Slotton DG, Greenfield BK (2011b) Mercury isotopes link mercury in San Francisco Bay forage fish to surface sediments. Environ Sci Technol 45:1264–1270

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gratz LE, Keeler GJ, Blum JD, Sherman LS (2010) Isotopic composition and fractionation of mercury in Great Lakes precipitation and ambient air. Environ Sci Technol 44:7764–7770

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hintelmann H, Lu SY (2003) High precision isotope ratio measurements of mercury isotopes in cinnabar ores using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Analyst 128:635–639

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang GY, Wang YS (2010) Expression and characterization analysis of type 2 metallothionein from grey mangrove species (Avicennia marina) in response to metal stress. Aquat Toxicol 99:86–92

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jackson TA, Telmer KH, Muir DCG (2013) Mass-dependent and mass-independent variations in the isotope composition of mercury in cores from lakes polluted by a smelter: effects of smelter emissions, natural processes, and their interactions. Chem Geol 352:27–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kritee K, Blum JD, Johnson MW, Bergquist BA, Barkay T (2007) Mercury stable isotope fractionation during reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(0) by mercury resistant microorganisms. Environ Sci Technol 41:1889–1895

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lefticariu L, Blum JD, Gleason JD (2011) Mercury isotopic evidence for multiple mercury sources in coal from the Illinois basin. Environ Sci Technol 45:1724–1729

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Li R, Chai M, Guo M, Qiu GY (2016) Sediment accumulation and mercury (Hg) flux in Avicennia marina forest of Deep Bay, China. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 177:41–46

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lin H, Yuan D, Lu B, Huang S, Sun L, Zhang F, Gao Y (2015): Isotopic composition analysis of dissolved mercury in seawater with purge and trap preconcentration and a modified Hg introduction device for MC-ICP-MS. J Anal Atom Spectrom

  • Lin H, Peng J, Yuan D, Lu B, Lin K, Huang S (2016) Mercury isotope signatures of seawater discharged from a coal-fired power plant equipped with a seawater flue gas desulfurization system. Environ Pollut 214:822–830

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Machado M, Moscatelli LG, Rezende LD, Lacerda (2002) Mercury, zinc, and copper accumulation in mangrove sediments surrounding a large landfill in southeast Brazil. Environ Pollut 120(2):455–461

  • Marchand C, Lallier-Vergès E, Baltzer F, Albéric P, Cossa D, Baillif P (2006) Heavy metals distribution in mangrove sediments along the mobile coastline of French Guiana. Mar Chem 98:1–17

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rolison JM, Landing WM, Luke W, Cohen M, Salters VJM (2013) Isotopic composition of species-specific atmospheric Hg in a coastal environment. Chem Geol 336:37–49

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sandilyan S, Kathiresan K (2012) Mangrove conservation: a global perspective. Biodivers Conserv 21:3523–3542

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schauble EA (2007) Role of nuclear volume in driving equilibrium stable isotope fractionation of mercury, thallium, and other very heavy elements. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 71:2170–2189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman LS, Blum JD, Keeler GJ, Demers JD, Dvonch JT (2011) Investigation of local mercury deposition from a coal-fired power plant using mercury isotopes. Environ Sci Technol 46:382–390

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman LS, Blum JD, Nordstrom DK, McCleskey RB, Barkay T, Vetriani C (2009) Mercury isotopic composition of hydrothermal systems in the Yellowstone plateau volcanic field and Guaymas Basin sea-floor rift. Earth Planet Sc Lett 279:86–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Skov H, Christensen JH, Goodsite ME, Heidam NZ, Jensen B, Wahlin P, Geernaert G (2004) Fate of elemental mercury in the Arctic during atmospheric mercury depletion episodes and the load of atmospheric mercury to the Arctic. Environ Sci Technol 38:2373–2382

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith CN, Kesler SE, Blum JD, Rytuba JJ (2008) Isotope geochemistry of mercury in source rocks, mineral deposits and spring deposits of the California coast ranges, USA. Earth Planet Sc Lett 269:399–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sonke JE (2011) A global model of mass independent mercury stable isotope fractionation. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 75:4577–4590

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stetson SJ, Gray JE, Wanty RB, Macalady DL (2009) Isotopic variability of mercury in ore, mine-waste calcine, and leachates of mine-waste calcine from areas mined for mercury. Environ Sci Technol 43:7331–7336

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strode S, Jaegle L, Selin NE (2009) Impact of mercury emissions from historic gold and silver mining: global modeling. Atmos Environ 43:2012–2017

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Strok M, Baya PA, Hintelmann H (2015) The mercury isotope composition of Arctic coastal seawater. Compt Rendus Geosci 347:368–376

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun LM, Feng LF, Yuan DX, Lin SS, Huang SY, Gao LM, Zhu Y (2013b) The extent of the influence and flux estimation of volatile mercury from the aeration pool in a typical coal-fired power plant equipped with a seawater flue gas desulfurization system. Sci Total Environ 444:559–564

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun R, Heimbürger L-E, Sonke JE, Liu G, Amouroux D, Berail S (2013a) Mercury stable isotope fractionation in six utility boilers of two large coal-fired power plants. Chem Geol 336:103–111

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun RY, Sonke JE, Heimburger LE, Belkin HE, Liu GJ, Shome D, Cukrowska E, Liousse C, Pokrovsky OS, Streets DG (2014) Mercury stable isotope signatures of world coal deposits and historical coal combustion emissions. Environ Sci Technol 48:7660–7668

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun RY, Sonke JE, Liu GJ (2016b) Biogeochemical controls on mercury stable isotope compositions of world coal deposits: a review. Earth Sci Rev 152:1–13

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun RY, Streets DG, Horowitz HM, Amos HM, Liu GJ, Perrot V, Toutain JP, Hintelmann H, Sunderland EM, Sonke JE (2016a) Historical (1850 − 2010) mercury stable isotope inventory from anthropogenic sources to the atmosphere. Elementa: Sci Anthropocene 4(1):000091

    Google Scholar 

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water (2002) Method 1631, revision E mercury in water by oxidation, purge and trap, and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Washington, D.C

  • Vannucci M (2001) What is so special about mangroves? Braz J Biol = Rev Bras Biol 61:599–603

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wiederhold JG, Cramer CJ, Daniel K, Infante I, Bourdon B, Kretzschmar R (2010) Equilibrium mercury isotope fractionation between dissolved Hg(II) species and thiol-bound Hg. Environ Sci Technol 44:4191–4197

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu H, Ding Z, Liu Y, Liu J, Yan H, Pan J, Li L, Lin H, Lin G, Lu H (2011) Methylmercury and sulfate-reducing bacteria in mangrove sediments from Jiulong River estuary, China. J Environ Sci (China) 23:14–21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin R, Feng X, Chen J (2014b) Mercury stable isotopic compositions in coals from major coal producing fields in China and their geochemical and environmental implications. Environ Sci Technol 48:5565–5574

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin R, Feng X, Meng B (2013b) Stable mercury isotope variation in rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) from the Wanshan mercury mining district, SW China. Environ Sci Technol 47:2238–2245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin R, Feng X, Li X, Yu B, Du B (2014a) Trends and advances in mercury stable isotopes as a geochemical tracer. Trends Environ Anal Chem 2:1–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin RS, Feng XB, Hurley JP, Krabbenhoft DP, Lepak RF, Hu RZ, Zhang Q, Li ZG, Bi XW (2016) Mercury isotopes as proxies to identify sources and environmental impacts of mercury in sphalerites. Sci Rep 6:8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin R, Feng X, Wang J, Li P, Liu J, Zhang Y, Chen J, Zheng L, Hu T (2013a) Mercury speciation and mercury isotope fractionation during ore roasting process and their implication to source identification of downstream sediment in the Wanshan mercury mining area, SW China. Chem Geol 336:72–79

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yin R, Feng X, Chen B, Zhang J, Wang W, Li X (2015) Identifying the sources and processes of mercury in subtropical estuarine and ocean sediments using Hg isotopic composition. Environ Sci Technol 49:1347–1355

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu B, Fu X, Yin R, Zhang H, Wang X, Lin C-J, Wu C, Zhang Y, He N, Fu P, Wang Z, Shang L, Sommar J, Sonke JE, Maurice L, Guinot B, Feng X (2016) Isotopic composition of atmospheric mercury in China: new evidence for sources and transformation processes in air and in vegetation. Environ Sci Technol 50:9262–9269

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zambardi T, Sonke JE, Toutain JP, Sortino F, Shinohara H (2009) Mercury emissions and stable isotopic compositions at Vulcano Island (Italy). Earth Planet Sc Lett 277:236–243

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng W, Foucher D, Hintelmann H (2007) Mercury isotope fractionation during volatilization of Hg(0) from solution into the gas phase. J Anal Atom Spectrom 22:1097–1104

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng W, Hintelmann H (2009) Mercury isotope fractionation during photoreduction in natural water is controlled by its Hg/DOC ratio. Geochim Cosmochim Ac 73:6704–6715

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng W, Hintelmann H (2010) Nuclear field shift effect in isotope fractionation of mercury during abiotic reduction in the absence of light. J Phys Chem A 114:4238–4245

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was funded by NSFC 41406120, NSFC 40976070 and the Natural Science Foundation of Fujian Province of China (2015J05032). The authors would like to thank Dr. Joel D. Blum for providing the UM-Almadén secondary standard.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Estuarine Ecological Security and Environmental Health, Fujian Province University, Tan Kah Kee College, Xiamen University, Zhangzhou, 363105, China

    Lumin Sun, Wenbo Hao & Ying Zheng

  2. Key Laboratory of the Coastal and Wetland Ecosystems, Ministry of Education, Xiamen University, Xiamen, 361102, China

    Lumin Sun, Bingyan Lu & Dongxing Yuan

Authors
  1. Lumin Sun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bingyan Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Dongxing Yuan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wenbo Hao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ying Zheng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lumin Sun.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Stuart Simpson

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 272 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sun, L., Lu, B., Yuan, D. et al. Variations in the isotopic composition of stable mercury isotopes in typical mangrove plants of the Jiulong estuary, SE China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 1459–1468 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7933-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7933-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation