Abstract
Purpose
Sapropel is an organic-rich sediment formed under conditions that can result in sequestration of trace metals. Here, we determined the concentration of total mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and 16 other metals (Al, Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, Li, Mn, Ni, Sr, Tl, U, V, Zn) in a sapropel core from Mangrove Lake, Bermuda that dated back nearly two millennia. The purpose was to assess historical patterns of metal deposition on this geographically remote island in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Materials and methods
Two sediment cores were collected from Mangrove Lake using a modified piston corer. Cores were age-dated with a Bayesian statistical age-depth model using a multiproxy approach relying on 210Pb and radiocarbon dates. Total Hg was determined following US EPA Method 7473 using a direct mercury analyzer. Other metals were determined by sector field ICP-MS following a microwave-assisted strong-acid digestion. Stable isotope measurements of Hg and Pb were used to better track sources of these contaminants.
Results and discussion
Sapropel Hg concentrations were low (~ 50 ng g−1) from about 1000 AD to 1600 AD, followed by a slow rise in concentration until a high point of 209 ng g−1 in the early nineteenth century. Hg levels then returned to ~ 70 ng g−1, still elevated above baseline levels, before a final sharp rise in the mid-1900s to 430 ng g−1. Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, and Ba had similar patterns, with Pb isotope ratios showing early natural fluctuations followed by the greater influence of pollution sources. Mercury stable isotope data also show the influence of anthropogenic sources during the 1800s and suggest a mix of atmospheric, terrestrial, and possibly marine-derived Hg inputs to the lake.
Conclusions
The vertical distribution of elements and isotopes reveals changes in deposition through time associated with pollution from industrialization, and, possibly, volcanic activity, seawater intrusion, intense hurricane events, and local pollution from ship and fortress building. Overall, this study demonstrates that organic-rich sapropel provides a good historical record of metal contamination, and that Bermuda, despite its remote location, had metal deposition profiles much like the records of other sediment cores from around the world.
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Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Dr. Jessica Rodysill and Dr. Brian Yellen for fieldwork assistance, Zach Stromer for assistance running 210Pb samples, and Robert Hollis with ArcGIS assistance. Mercury stable isotope measurements were performed by the USGS Mercury Research Lab in Middleton, WI. We are grateful to Dr. Alfonso Mucci (McGill University) and Dr. Joel Blum (University of Michigan) for helpful comments and suggestions on an early draft of the paper.
Funding
This material was based upon work financially supported by the National Science Foundation under grant no. 1144869.
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Byunggwon Jeon and Austin Scircle are co-first authors.
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Jeon, B., Scircle, A., Cizdziel, J.V. et al. Historical deposition of trace metals in a marine sapropel from Mangrove Lake, Bermuda with emphasis on mercury, lead, and their isotopic composition. J Soils Sediments 20, 2266–2276 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02567-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-020-02567-6