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Features of Mercury Accumulation in the Bottom Sediments of Two Arctic Lakes in West Siberia

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Abstract—

The paper presents data on the features of Hg distribution and its input in dated bottom sediments in two Arctic lakes: Longtibeito on the Yamal Peninsula and Gol’tsovoe on the Gydan Peninsula. The Hg concentrations are much higher in the upper layers of the sediments, and the enrichment factors are 14 and 10 at background concentrations of 4.3 and 5.2 ng g–1, respectively. The sedimentation rates in both lakes are fairly high: the rate for Longtibeito Lake varied relatively little and is 660 ± 75 g m–2 year–1 on average, and that for Gol’tsovoe Lake decreased toward upper layers from 791 to 513 g m–2 year–1. The fluxes of total Hg in these lakes are principally different, but their lithogenic fluxes are approximately equal: 5–7 μg m–2 year–1. Mercury flux into Longtibeito Lake is much higher than into Gol’tsovoe Lake and amounts to 41.5 μg m–2 year–1. Layer-by-layer grain-size analysis with determination of Hg in each fraction, highlights differences between the lakes. The total Hg concentration in a layer in Gol’tsovoe Lake is controlled by the fine fraction (<0.045 mm), whereas this fraction in Longtibeito Lake dominates because of the high mass percentage. It has been shown that bottom sediments contain large (>0.2 mm) particles with high Hg concentrations. One of the likely reasons for the increase in Hg concentration in the upper layers may have been the development of oil and gas fields in this territory.

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Funding

This study was carried out under government-financed research project 0137-2019-0008 for Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, and was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 18-05-60012.

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  1. Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    Yu. G. Tatsii & D. Yu. Baranov

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  1. Yu. G. Tatsii
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Correspondence to Yu. G. Tatsii or D. Yu. Baranov.

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Translated by E. Kurdyukov

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Tatsii, Y.G., Baranov, D.Y. Features of Mercury Accumulation in the Bottom Sediments of Two Arctic Lakes in West Siberia. Geochem. Int. 60, 213–221 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0016702922020094

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