A novel approach to peatlands as archives of total cumulative spatial pollution loads from atmospheric deposition of airborne elements complementary to EMEP data: priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg)

Miszczak, Ewa; Michczyński, Adam; Steinnes, E.; Twardowską, Irena

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.135776

Cited by 22 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Preindustrial Hg deposition has been studied over decadal to millennial timescales extending as far back as the Late Pleistocene. Exploitation of mercury deposits (mainly cinnabar) first began during the Mid-to Late-Holocene in South America, Europe, and Asia, but increased dramatically during the Colonial era (1532-1900) for silver production [19,20]. Artisanal gold mining is now thought responsible for over half the global stream flux of Hg, followed by the burning of coal [2,21].…”

Section: Hg Emissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

2020

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Background Environmental contamination by mercury is and will continue to be a serious risk for human health. Pollution of the terrestrial environment is particularly important as it is a place of human life and food production. This publication presents a review of the literature on issues related to mercury pollution of the terrestrial environment: soil and plants and their transformations. Results Different forms of atmospheric Hg may be deposited on surfaces by way of wet and dry processes. These forms may be sequestered within terrestrial compartments or emitted back into the atmosphere, and the relative importance of these processes is dependent on the form of Hg, the surface chemistry, and the environmental conditions. On the land surface, Hg deposition mainly occurs in the oxidized form (Hg2+), and its transformations are associated primarily with the oxidation–reduction potential of the environment and the biological and chemical processes of methylation. The deposition of Hg pollutants on the ground with low vegetation is as 3–5 times lower than that in forests. The estimation of Hg emissions from soil and plants, which occur mainly in the Hg0 form, is very difficult. Generally, the largest amounts of Hg are emitted from tropical regions, followed by the temperate zone, and the lowest levels are from the polar regions. Areas with vegetation can be ranked according to the size of the emissions as follows: forests > other areas (tundra, savannas, and chaparral) > agricultural areas > grassland ecosystems; areas of land devoid of vegetation emit more Hg than those with plants. In areas with high pollution, such as areas near Hg mines, the Hg content in soil and plants is much higher than in other areas. Conclusions Mercury is recognized as a toxic, persistent, and mobile contaminant; it does not degrade in the environment and becomes mobile because of the volatility of the element and several of its compounds. Atmospheric contamination by mercury continues to be one of the most important environmental problems in the modern world. The general conclusions were drawn from a review of the literature and presented in this paper.

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Section: Hg Emissionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

2020

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“…It is emphasized that the above-mentioned results and the novel nowcasting tool presented in this study can be used to accurately assess the deposition of airborne contaminants transported over large distances, as ombrotrophic peat bog is polluted by atmospheric deposition mechanisms [38].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

A New Climate Nowcasting Tool Based on Paleoclimatic Data

et al. 2020

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Atmospheric pollutants and environmental indicators are often used to reconstruct historic atmospheric pollution from peat, as it accumulates over time by decomposing plant material, thus recording a history of air pollution. In the present study, three key parameters related to the peat bogs’ surface wetness dynamics in European Russia during the Holocene were investigated using modern statistical analysis. These parameters are: (i) the water table depth (WTD) in relation to the surface, which is reconstructed based on the community structure of the subfossil testate amoeba assemblages; (ii) the peat humification estimated as absorption of alkaline extract that directly reflects moisture at which the peat was formed; (iii) the Climate Moisture Index (CMI) and the Aridity Index derived from pollen-based reconstructions of the mean annual temperature and precipitation and classifying moisture conditions as the ratio between available annual precipitation and potential land surface evapotranspiration. All these parameters provide useful information about the paleoclimate (atmospheric moisture component) dynamics. High values of WTD and peat humification appear to comply with Gutenberg–Richter law. It is noteworthy that this law also seems to reproduce the high values of the modeled climate moisture and aridity indices. The validity of this new result is checked by replacing “conventional time” with “natural time”. On this basis, a new nowcasting tool is developed to more accurately estimate the average waiting time for the extreme values of these climate parameters. This will help to understand climate variability better to address emerging development needs and priorities by implementing empirical studies of the interactions between climatic effects, mitigation, adaptation, and sustainable growth.

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“…Le De Vleeschouwer et al, 2010a;Hansson et al, 2015;Shotyk et al, 2016a). Miszczak et al (2019) however ignore this large body of evidence. We list below a series of evidence supported by Table 1 that provide the main references in the field, to argue that Pb is indeed immobile in ombrotrophic peat.…”

Section: Lead Mobilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After more than 40 years of investigation, there is a consensus about the vertical immobility of Pb in ombrotrophic peatlands based on i) the coherence and synchronicity of the Pb pollution patterns identified in ombrotrophic peatlands over a wide latitudinal distribution; ii) a constant improvement of the age-depth models; iii) the improvement of analytical techniques and statistics; iv) the generalization of multiproxy studies. This comment aims at clarifying key critical issues in Miszczak et al (2019), to help avoid reader confusion and to clarify how ombrotrophic peatland geochemistry help reconstructing past metal contamination in the environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comment on: “A novel approach to peatlands as archives of total cumulative spatial pollution loads from atmospheric deposition of airborne elements complementary to EMEP data: Priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg)” by Ewa Miszczak, Sebastian Stefaniak, Adam Michczyński, Eiliv Steinnes and Irena Twardowska

Vleeschouwer

Baron

Cloy

et al. 2020

Science of The Total Environment

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A novel approach to peatlands as archives of total cumulative spatial pollution loads from atmospheric deposition of airborne elements complementary to EMEP data: priority pollutants (Pb, Cd, Hg)

Cited by 22 publications

References 51 publications

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

A New Climate Nowcasting Tool Based on Paleoclimatic Data

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