Abstract
The city of Rio Grande, located on the right bank of the Patos Estuary, has been severely contaminated by mercury (Hg) due to anthropogenic activities that chiefly began in the eighteenth century. To investigate the natural mercury distribution along the salinity gradient in the estuary, three sediment cores were collected from a region of the estuary that has experienced less anthropogenic impacts, namely its left bank. Our study demonstrates that accumulation of Hg and formation of metal sulfide minerals take place in fine grain sediment horizons within the sampled sediment cores. Mercury immobilization in these sediments occurs via binding to organic matter coatings on fine grain sediment particles, as well as by incorporation into and/or co-precipitation with iron sulfide minerals. The grain size controls over Hg accumulation and sulfide mineral formation were statistically demonstrated using principal component analysis. Different fine particulate sediment deposition patterns occurred at each sampling location, which is attributed to the consequence of hydrological changes in the estuary resulting from navigation infrastructure reforms performed over the past 200 years in the local port (e.g., dredging) and its surroundings. We suggest that the port building and maintenance activities have influenced Hg distributions in the estuarine sediments.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Álvarez-Iglesias, P., and Rubio, B. (2012). Early diagenesis of organic-matter-rich sediments in a ría environment: organic matter sources, pyrites morphology and limitation of pyritization at depth. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 100. Elsevier Ltd: 113-123. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2012.01.005.
Antiqueira, J., & Calliari, L. (2005). Características sedimentares da desembocadura da Laguna dos Patos. Gravel, 3, 39-46.
Aston, S. R., & Chester, R. (1976). Estuarine sedimentary processes. In J. D. Burton & P. S. Liss (Eds.), Estuarine chemistry (pp. 37-52). London: Academic Publisher Inc..
Barnett, M. O., Turner, R. R., & Singer, P. C. (2001). Oxidative dissolution of metacinnabar (β-HgS) by dissolved oxygen. Applied Geochemistry, 16, 1499-1512. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0883-2927(01)00026-9.
Berner, R. A. (1984). Sedimentary pyrite formation. American Journal of Science, 268, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.2475/ajs.268.1.1.
Bianchi, T.S. (2007). Biogeochemistry of estuaries. 1 st. New York: Oxford University Press.
Bonnissel-Gissinger, P., Alnot, M., Lickes, J. P., Ehrhardt, J. J., & Behra, P. (1999). Modeling the adsorption of mercury (II) on (hydr) oxides II: α-FeOOH (goethite) and amorphous silica. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 215, 313-322. https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.1999.6263.
Brooks, K. M. (2001). An evaluation of the relationship between salmon farm biomass, organic inputs to sediments, physicochemical changes associated with those inputs and the infaunal response - with emphasis on total sediment. Washington: Aquatic Environmental Sciences.
Brown, J. R., Michael Bancroft, G., Fyfe, W. S., & McLean, R. A. N. (1979). Mercury removal from water by iron sulfide minerals. An electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) study. Environmental Science and Technology, 13, 1142-1144. https://doi.org/10.1021/es60157a013.
Brüchert, V., Jørgensen, B. B., Neumann, K., Riechmann, D., Schlösser, M., & Schulz, H. (2003). Regulation of bacterial sulfate reduction and hydrogen sulfide fluxes in the central Namibian coastal upwelling zone. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 67, 4505-4518. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(03)00275-8.
Bunsen, R. (1847). Ueber den innern Zusammenhang der pseudovulkanischen Erscheinungen Islands. Ann. Chem. Pharm., 1-59.
Burton, J. D. (1976). Basic properties and processes in estuarine chemistry. In J. D. Burton & P. S. Liss (Eds.), Estuarine chemistry (pp. 1-36). London: Academic Publisher Inc..
Cesar, W. (2015). Rio Grande do big bang a 2015 (1st ed.). Rio de Janeiro: Topbooks.
Costa, L., Mirlean, N., Quintana, G. C., Adebayo, S., & Johannesson, K. (2019). Distribution and geochemistry of arsenic in sediments of the world’s largest choked estuary: the Patos Lagoon, Brazil. Estuaries and Coasts. Springer US, 42, 1896-1911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-019-00596-0.
Dreys, N. (1827). Nicolau Dreys diaries. Rio Grande.
Ehrhardt, J. J., Behra, P., Bonnissel-Gissinger, P., & Alnot, M. (2000). XPS study of the sorption of Hg (II) onto pyrite FeS2. Surface and Interface Analysis, 30, 269-272. https://doi.org/10.1002/1096-9918(200008)30:1<269::AID-SIA758>3.0.CO;2-N.
Forstner, U., & Salomons, W. (1984). Metals in the hydrocycle (1st ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69325-0e-1SBN-13.
Forstner, U., & Wittmann, G. T. W. (1979). Metal pollution in the aquatic environment (1st ed.). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.
Fossing, H., & Jørgensen, B. B. (1989). Chromium reduction method of bacterial sulfate reduction in sediments: measurement reduction of a single-step chromium method evaluation. Biogeochemistry, 8, 205-222.
Fragomeni, de Moura, L. P., Roisenberg, A., & Mirlean, N. (2010). Poluição por Mercúrio em Aterros Urbanos do Período Colonial no Extremosul do Brasil. Quimica Nova, 33, 1631-1635.
Hach, C., (2007). DR 2800 Spectrophotometer user manual. USA. https://doi.org/10.3928/01477447-20101221-06
Hernández-Crespo, C., & Martín, M. (2013). Mid-term variation of vertical distribution of acid volatile sulphide and simultaneously extracted metals in sediment cores from Lake Albufera (Valencia, Spain). Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 65, 654-664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9941-1.
Huerta-Diaz, M. A., & Reimer, J. J. (2010). Biogeochemistry of sediments. In X. L. O. Pérez & F. M. Vazquez (Eds.), Biogeochemistry and pedogenetic process in saltmarsh and mangrove systems (1st ed., pp. 1-25). New York: Nova Science.
Hyland, M. M., Jean, G. E., & Bancroft, G. M. (1990). XPS and AES studies of Hg (II) sorption and desorption reactions on sulphide minerals. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 54, 1957-1967. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(90)90264-L.
Jeong, H. Y., Klaue, B., Blum, J. D., & Hayes, K. F. (2007). Sorption of mercuric ion by synthetic nanocrystalline mackinawite (FeS). Environmental Science and Technology, 41, 7699-7705. https://doi.org/10.1021/es070289l.
Jørgensen, B. B., & Kasten, S. (2005). Sulfur cycling and methane oxidation. In H. D. Schulz & M. Zabel (Eds.), Marine geochemistry (2nd ed., pp. 271-309). Berlin: Springer.
Kjerfve, B., (1994). Coastal lagoons, in: Kjerfve, B. (Ed.), Coastal Lagoon Processes. Elsevier Oceanographic Series, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp. 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1016/0378-3839(95)90002-0
Kütter, V. T., Mirlean, N., Baisch, P. R., Kütter, M. T., & Silva-Filho, E. V. (2009). Mercury in freshwater, estuarine, and marine fishes from Southern Brazil and its ecological implication. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 159, 35-42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0610-1.
Lacerda, L. D., & Malm, O. (2008). Contaminação por mercúrio em ecossistemas aquáticos : uma análise das áreas críticas. Estudos Avançados, 22, 173-190.
Marques, W. C., Fernandes, E. H. L., Moraes, B. C., Möller, O. O., & Malcherek, A. (2010). Dynamics of the Patos Lagoon coastal plume and its contribution to the deposition pattern of the southern Brazilian inner shelf. Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 115(10), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1029/2010JC006190
Meysman, F. J. R., & Middelburg, J. J. (2005). Acid-volatile sulfide (AVS) - a comment. Marine Chemistry, 97, 206-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2005.08.005.
Mirlean, N., & Oliveira, C. (2006). Mercury in coastal reclamation fills in southernmost Brazil: historical and environmental facets. Journal of Coastal Research, 226, 1573-1576. https://doi.org/10.2112/04-0352.1.
Mirlean, N., Andrus, V. E., & Baisch, P. (2003). Mercury pollution sources in sediments of Patos Lagoon Estuary, Southern Brazil. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 46, 331-334. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00404-6.
Mirlean, N., Calliari, L., Baisch, P., Loitzenbauer, E., & Shumilin, E. (2009). Urban activity and mercury contamination in estuarine and marine sediments (Southern Brazil). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 157, 583-589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-008-0558-1.
Moller, O. O., Lorenzzentti, J. A., Stech, J. L., & Mata, M. M. (1996). The Patos Lagoon summertime circulation and dynamics. Continental Shelf Research, 16, 335-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/0278-4343(95)00014-R.
Moller, O. O., Castaing, P., Salomon, J.-C., & Lazure, P. (2001). The influence of local and non-local forcing effects on the subtidal circulation of Patos Lagoon. Estuaries, 24, 297. https://doi.org/10.2307/1352953.
Morse, J. W., & Luther, G. W. (1999). Chemical influences on trace metal-sulfide interactions in anoxic sediments. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 63, 3373-3378.
Niencheski, L. F., Moore, W. S., and Windom, H. L. (2014). History of human activity in coastal Southern Brazil from sediment. Marine Pollution Bulletin 78. Elsevier Ltd: 209-212. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.10.042.
NRCC. (2004). HISS-1, MESS-3, PACS-2 marine sediment reference material for trace metals and other constituents. Canada.
Otero, X. L., Ferreira, T. O., Huerta-Díaz, M. A., Partiti, C. S. M., Souza, V., Vidal-Torrado, P., & Macías, F. (2009). Geochemistry of iron and manganese in soils and sediments of a mangrove system, Island of Pai Matos (Cananeia - SP, Brazil). Geoderma, 148. Elsevier B.V., 318-335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2008.10.016.
Perelman, A. (1967). Geochemistry of epigenesis monographs in geoscience (1st ed.). New York: Plenum Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-7520-3.
Pimentel, F. (1944). Aspectos Gerais do Município do Rio Grande (1st ed.). Porto Alegre: Gráfica Imprensa Oficial.
Postma, H. (1967). Sediment transport and sedimentation in the estuarine environment. In G. H. Lauff (Ed.), Estuaries (pp. 158-179). Washington: American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Quintana, G. C., & Mirlean, N. (2018). Groundwater contamination by mercury from the aforetime carroting practice. Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 100. Springer US, 839-842. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00128-018-2333-5.
Quintana, G. C., and Mirlean, N. (2019). Record of Hg pollution around outset of colonization in Southern Brazil. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 191. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment: 1-8. doi:https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7404-5.
Rickard, D., & Luther, G. W. (2007). Chemistry of iron sulfides. Chemical Reviews, 107. https://doi.org/10.1021/cr0503658.
Rojas, N., & Silva, N. (2005). Early diagenesis and vertical distribution of organic carbon and total nitrogen in recent sediments from southern Chilean fjords (Boca del Guafo to Pulluche Channel). Investigaciones Marinas, 33, 183-194. https://doi.org/10.4067/s0717-71782005000200005.
Saint-Hilaire, A. (1820). August Saint-Hilaire diaries. Rio Grande.
Skyllberg, U., Bloom, P. R., Qian, J., Lin, C. M., & Bleam, W. F. (2006). Complexation of mercury (II) in soil organic matter: EXAFS evidence for linear two-coordination with reduced sulfur groups. Environmental Science and Technology, 40.
Svensson, M., Düker, A., & Allard, B. (2006). Formation of cinnabar-estimation of favourable conditions in a proposed Swedish repository. Journal of Hazardous Materials, 136, 830-836. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2006.01.018.
USEPA. (1996). Method 3050B: Acid digestion of sediments, sludges, and soils. 1996. Vol. 2. doi:https://doi.org/10.1117/12.528651.
USEPA. (1998). METHOD 7471B: mercury in solid or semisolid waste.
Van Bemmelen, J. M. (1886). Bijdragen tot de kennis van den alluvialen bodem in Nederland. Verhandelingen der Akademie van Wetenschappen, Amsterdam, 25, 33-105.
WHO (2003). Mercury environmental health criteria 86. Geneva: WHO.
Windom, H. L., Niencheski, L. F., & Smith, R. G. (1999). Biogeochemistry of nutrients and trace metals in the estuarine region of the Patos Lagoon (Brazil). Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 48, 113-123. https://doi.org/10.1006/ecss.1998.0410.
Winfrey, M., Campbell, P. G. C., Lewis, A. G., Chapamn, P. M., Crowder, A. A., Fletcher, W. K., Imber, B., Luoma, S. N., & Stokes, P. M. (1988). In National Reseach Concil of Canada (Ed.), Biologicaly available metals in sediments (1st ed.). Halifax: National Reseach Concil of Canada.
Wolfenden, S., Charnock, J. M., Hilton, J., Livens, F. R., & Vaughan, D. J. (2005). Sulfide species as a sink for mercury in lake sediments. Environmental Science & Technology, 39, 6644-6648.
Yang, Y., Zhang, L., Chen, F., Kang, M., Wu, S., & Liu, J. (2014). Seasonal variation of acid volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted metals in sediment cores from the Pearl River Estuary. Soil and Sediment Contamination, 23, 480-496. https://doi.org/10.1080/15320383.2014.838207.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the Coordination of Improvement of Higher Level Personnel of Brazilian government (CAPES) by grant of scholarship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Quintana, G., Mirlean, N., Costa, L. et al. Mercury distributions in sediments of an estuary subject to anthropogenic hydrodynamic alterations (Patos Estuary, Southern Brazil). Environ Monit Assess 192, 266 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8232-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-020-8232-3