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Mercury in dated Greenland marine sediments.

G Asmund¹, S P Nielsen

¹National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Arctic Environment, Copenhagen, Denmark. gas@dmu.dk

The Science of the Total Environment

|February 22, 2000

Summary

Mercury levels in Greenland marine sediments have doubled in the last 100 years, likely due to human activities. This atmospheric mercury increase is primarily linked to washout, though other factors contribute.

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Area of Science:

Environmental Science
Geochemistry
Marine Geology

Background:

Mercury is a persistent environmental pollutant.
Understanding mercury's historical deposition is crucial for assessing pollution impacts.
Arctic marine sediments act as archives of past environmental conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate historical mercury deposition trends in Greenland marine sediments.
To determine the primary sources and deposition mechanisms of mercury over the last century.
To assess the influence of anthropogenic activities on mercury flux.

Main Methods:

Analysis of mercury concentrations in 20 marine sediment cores from Greenland.
Dating of sediment cores using the lead-210 (Pb-210) dating method.

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Linear regression analysis of mercury concentration versus sediment age for the past 100 years.

Main Results:

Sediment cores generally show increased mercury concentrations in upper layers.
Mercury flux to sediment surfaces has approximately doubled over the last 100 years.
Mercury flux correlated with lead-210 (Pb-210) flux, suggesting atmospheric deposition as the main source.

Conclusions:

The observed increase in mercury flux is likely anthropogenic, given its restriction to the last 100 years.
Atmospheric washout is the primary pathway for mercury deposition in these Arctic marine sediments.
Variability in mercury flux suggests other influencing processes beyond atmospheric deposition.