Fate of mercury species in the coastal plume of the Adour River estuary (Bay of Biscay, SW France)

Sharif, Abubaker; Monperrus, Mathilde; Tessier, Emmanuel; Bouchet, Sylvain; Pinaly, Hervé; Rodríguez-González, Pablo; Maron, Philippe; Amouroux, David

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.06.116

Cited by 42 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…1). This estuary (43°30′ N, 1°30′ W) is 25 km long and covers the complete estuarine mixing zone, 200 to 400 m wide with an average depth of 5 to 12 m. The mean annual water discharge is about 300 m 3 s −1 and reaches 2000 m 3 s −1 during brief flood events (Sharif et al 2014).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In spring and summer, an increase in MeHg concentrations has been reported for surface sediment in the Adour estuary (Stoichev et al 2004), likely to be related to elevated temperature and increased in situ activity of sulphate-reducing bacteria. The high water flows, generally observed in the spring in the Adour estuary, may have contributed to the dispersal of contaminated particles and Hg load in the coastal zone, then partially methylated and available to marine glass eels (Sharif et al 2014). …”

Section: Temporal Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatial and seasonal variations of methylmercury in European glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) in the Adour estuary (France) and relation to their migratory behaviour

Claveau

Monperrus

Jarry

et al. 2015

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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Overall recruitment of European glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) has decreased significantly since the early 1980s. Due to their long life cycle, benthic/demersal habits and high lipid content, eels might accumulate high concentrations of contaminants, but data concerning glass eels are still scarce. This study provides original data on methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in glass eels at spatial (marine and estuarine), annual and seasonal scales. The relationship between MeHg concentrations in glass eels and their propensity to migrate up estuaries was also investigated. MeHg data were individually related to the eels' energetic condition which was estimated by dry weight. Glass eel migratory behaviour was investigated in an experimental flume and related to the MeHg concentration and dry weight at the individual scale. Marine and estuarine glass eels were caught from 2004 to 2011. There was a strong inverse correlation between MeHg concentrations and dry weight. MeHg concentrations increased in marine and estuarine glass eels from 2004 to 2009 and from 2004 to 2010, respectively, and then, both groups decreased in 2011. On a seasonal time scale, MeHg concentrations were higher at the end of the fishing season (April). MeHg bioaccumulation is likely to result from different sources, but the lack of significant differences between marine and estuarine glass eels suggests that direct contamination during estuarine migration is low. Other sources such as maternal transfer or oceanic contamination are discussed.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Temporal Variationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial and seasonal variations of methylmercury in European glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) in the Adour estuary (France) and relation to their migratory behaviour

Claveau

Monperrus

Jarry

et al. 2015

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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“…Photoreaction rates (Table S9) are internally adjusted for the light conditions following Soerensen, Schartup, et al (). These processes are relatively well constrained; others are much less: (1) the partitioning of Hg, which is parameterized through the partition coefficient (k D , l/kg) for which a wide range is reported in the literature (Han, Lehman, et al, ; Han, Obraztsova, et al, ; Hollweg et al, ; Lamborg et al, ; Liu et al, ; Muresan et al, ; Schartup et al, , Schartup, Balcom, et al, ); (2) the Hg river inputs (Tables S7 and S8) (Amos et al, ; Soerensen, Schartup, et al, ; Woitke et al, ; Zhang et al, ), with the fraction of river MeHg being generally low (~5% of Hg T ) (Balogh et al, ; Mason et al, ; Paller et al, ; Sharif et al, ; Soerensen, Jacob, et al, , Soerensen, Schartup, et al, ); and (3) Hg methylation and MeHg demethylation (Hsu‐Kim et al, ; Semeniuk & Dastoor, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury in the Black Sea: New Insights From Measurements and Numerical Modeling

Rosati

Heimbürger

Canu

et al. 2018

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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Redox conditions and organic matter control marine methylmercury (MeHg) production. The Black Sea is the world's largest and deepest anoxic basin and is thus ideal to study Hg species along the extended redox gradient. Here we present new dissolved Hg and MeHg data from the 2013 GEOTRACES MEDBlack cruise (GN04_leg2) that we integrated into a numerical 1‐D model, to track the fate and dynamics of Hg and MeHg. Contrary to a previous study, our new data show highest MeHg concentrations in the permanently anoxic waters. Observed MeHg/Hg percentage (range 9–57%) in the anoxic waters is comparable to other subsurface maxima in oxic open‐ocean waters. With the modeling we tested for various Hg methylation and demethylation scenarios along the redox gradient. The results show that Hg methylation must occur in the anoxic waters. The model was then used to simulate the time evolution (1850–2050) of Hg species in the Black Sea. Our findings quantify (1) inputs and outputs of Hg T (~31 and ~28 kmol yr −1 ) and MeHg T (~5 and ~4 kmol yr −1 ) to the basin, (2) the extent of net demethylation occurring in oxic (~1 kmol yr −1 ) and suboxic water (~6 kmol yr −1 ), (3) and the net Hg methylation in the anoxic waters of the Black Sea (~11 kmol yr −1 ). The model was also used to estimate the amount of anthropogenic Hg (85–93%) in the Black Sea.

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“…We hypothesize that the activity of methylating bacteria is stimulated by redox microniches formed by the aggregation and enhanced degradation of terrestrial DOC in saline waters (7,16). Visual inspection of estuarine seawater samples revealed high concentrations of flocculated organic material, not present in the river water (SI Appendix, Fig.…”

Section: Mehg Production In Estuarine Seawatermentioning

confidence: 99%

Freshwater discharges drive high levels of methylmercury in Arctic marine biota

Schartup

Balcom

Soerensen

et al. 2015

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

122

148

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Elevated levels of neurotoxic methylmercury in Arctic food-webs pose health risks for indigenous populations that consume large quantities of marine mammals and fish. Estuaries provide critical hunting and fishing territory for these populations, and, until recently, benthic sediment was thought to be the main methylmercury source for coastal fish. New hydroelectric developments are being proposed in many northern ecosystems, and the ecological impacts of this industry relative to accelerating climate changes are poorly characterized. Here we evaluate the competing impacts of climate-driven changes in northern ecosystems and reservoir flooding on methylmercury production and bioaccumulation through a case study of a stratified sub-Arctic estuarine fjord in Labrador, Canada. Methylmercury bioaccumulation in zooplankton is higher than in midlatitude ecosystems. Direct measurements and modeling show that currently the largest methylmercury source is production in oxic surface seawater. Water-column methylation is highest in stratified surface waters near the river mouth because of the stimulating effects of terrestrial organic matter on methylating microbes. We attribute enhanced biomagnification in plankton to a thin layer of marine snow widely observed in stratified systems that concentrates microbial methylation and multiple trophic levels of zooplankton in a vertically restricted zone. Large freshwater inputs and the extensive Arctic Ocean continental shelf mean these processes are likely widespread and will be enhanced by future increases in water-column stratification, exacerbating high biological methylmercury concentrations. Soil flooding experiments indicate that near-term changes expected from reservoir creation will increase methylmercury inputs to the estuary by 25-200%, overwhelming climate-driven changes over the next decade. mercury | plankton | estuary | biomagnification | hydroelectric reservoir

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Fate of mercury species in the coastal plume of the Adour River estuary (Bay of Biscay, SW France)

Cited by 42 publications

References 58 publications

Spatial and seasonal variations of methylmercury in European glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) in the Adour estuary (France) and relation to their migratory behaviour

Spatial and seasonal variations of methylmercury in European glass eels (Anguilla anguilla) in the Adour estuary (France) and relation to their migratory behaviour

Mercury in the Black Sea: New Insights From Measurements and Numerical Modeling

Freshwater discharges drive high levels of methylmercury in Arctic marine biota

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