Atmospheric and catchment mercury concentrations and fluxes in Fennoscandia

Wängberg, Ingvar; Pfaffhuber, Katrine Aspmo; Berg, Torunn; Hakola, Hannele; Kyllönen, Katriina; Munthe, John; Porvari, Petri; Verta, Matti

doi:10.6027/tn2010-594

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 82 publications

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“…Upward trends in Hg-concentrations have also been registered in freshwater fish species in Norway (see Fjeld et al, 2010). Fjeld et al (2010) noted that the atmospheric deposition of Hg in the south eastern part of Norway had decreased in recent years (Wängberg et al, 2010), and therefore they anticipated to observe a decrease (or unchanged concentrations) of Hg in fish from inland lakes. They further suggested that increased wash-out of humus substances in inland waters could have led to increased Hgmethylation because of increased microbial activity in the sediments, and thus increased Hg bioavailability.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury concentration trend as a possible result of changes in cod population demography

Ruus

Hjermann

Beylich

et al. 2017

Marine Environmental Research

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury concentration trend as a possible result of changes in cod population demography

Ruus

Hjermann

Beylich

et al. 2017

Marine Environmental Research

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Human mercury exposure and effects in Europe

Višnjevec¹,

Kocman²,

Horvat³

2014

Enviro Toxic and Chemistry

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The effects of human exposure to mercury (Hg) and its compounds in Europe have been the focus of numerous studies that differed in their design, including recruiting different population groups at different levels of exposure and using different protocols and recruitment strategies. The objective of the present study was to review current studies of Hg exposure in Europe, taking into account the potential routes of Hg exposure, actual Hg exposure levels assessed by different biomarkers, and the effects of Hg to Europeans. All published studies from 2000 onward were reviewed, and exposure and effects studies were compared with known Hg levels in environmental compartments by mapping the various population groups studied and taking into account known sources of Hg. A study of the spatial distribution trends confirmed that the highest exposure levels to Hg, mostly as methylmercury (MeHg), are found in coastal populations, which consume more fish than inland populations. Fewer studies addressed exposure to elemental Hg through inhalation of Hg in air and inorganic Hg in food, particularly in highly contaminated areas. Overall, at the currently low exposure levels of Hg prevalently found in Europe, further studies are needed to confirm the risk to European populations, taking into consideration exposure to various Hg compounds and mixtures of stressors with similar end-points, nutritional status, and a detailed understanding of Hg in fish present in European markets.

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Boreal Forests Sequester Large Amounts of Mercury over Millennial Time Scales in the Absence of Wildfire

Giesler

Clemmensen

Wardle

et al. 2017

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Alterations in fire activity due to climate change and fire suppression may have profound effects on the balance between storage and release of carbon (C) and associated volatile elements. Stored soil mercury (Hg) is known to volatilize due to wildfires and this could substantially affect the land-air exchange of Hg; conversely the absence of fires and human disturbance may increase the time period over which Hg is sequestered. Here we show for a wildfire chronosequence spanning over more than 5000 years in boreal forest in northern Sweden that belowground inventories of total Hg are strongly related to soil humus C accumulation (R = 0.94, p < 0.001). Our data clearly show that northern boreal forest soils have a strong sink capacity for Hg, and indicate that the sequestered Hg is bound in soil organic matter pools accumulating over millennia. Our results also suggest that more than half of the Hg stock in the sites with the longest time since fire originates from deposition predating the onset of large-scale anthropogenic emissions. This study emphasizes the importance of boreal forest humus soils for Hg storage and reveals that this pool is likely to persist over millennial time scales in the prolonged absence of fire.

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Atmospheric and catchment mercury concentrations and fluxes in Fennoscandia

Cited by 4 publications

References 82 publications

Mercury concentration trend as a possible result of changes in cod population demography

Mercury concentration trend as a possible result of changes in cod population demography

Human mercury exposure and effects in Europe

Boreal Forests Sequester Large Amounts of Mercury over Millennial Time Scales in the Absence of Wildfire

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