TY - JOUR
T1 - Mercury loading within the Selenga River basin and Lake Baikal, Siberia
AU - Roberts, S.
AU - Adams, J.K.
AU - Mackay, A.W.
AU - Swann, G.E.A.
AU - McGowan, S.
AU - Rose, N.L.
AU - Panizzo, V.
AU - Yang, H.
AU - Vologina, E.
AU - Sturm, M.
AU - Shchetnikov, A.A.
N1 - CODEN: ENPOE
Chemicals/CAS: gold, 7440-57-5; mercury, 14302-87-5, 7439-97-6; Mercury; Water Pollutants, Chemical
Funding details: Russell Sage Foundation, RSF
Funding details: Natural Environment Research Council, NERC, NE/J007765/1, NE/J00829X/1, NE/J010227/1
Funding details: National Eye Research Centre, NERC
Funding details: University College London, UCL
Funding details: Russian Foundation for Basic Research, РФФИ, 18-05-00215
Funding details: Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, SB RAS, 0341-2017-0001
Funding details: Russian Science Foundation, RSF, 19-17-00216
Funding details: Government Council on Grants, Russian Federation, 075-15-2019-866
Funding text 1: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grants NE/J00829X/1, NE/J010227/1, and NE/J007765/1), (NERC) Standard Grants, as well as RGS, QRA and UCL Graduate School funds, RFBR (grant 18-05-00215), RSF (grant 19-17-00216), Government of the Russian Federation (grant 075-15-2019-866), Integration Project SB RAS (grant 0341-2017-0001). The authors are indebted to Nikolaj M. Budnev (Head of Applied Physics-Irkutsk State University), the captain and crew of the Geolog research boat, and Dmitry Gladkochub (Director of IEC) in facilitating and organizing 2013 fieldwork. Thank you as well to D. White and I. Filinov for 2014 fieldwork assistance. We also thank Miles Irving at UCL Department of Geography for help with producing the map figure in this manuscript.
Funding text 2: This work was supported by the Natural Environment Research Council (grants NE/J00829X/1 , NE/J010227/1 , and NE/J007765/1 ), ( NERC ) Standard Grants, as well as RGS , QRA and UCL Graduate School funds, RFBR (grant 18-05-00215 ), RSF (grant 19-17-00216 ), Government of the Russian Federation (grant 075-15-2019-866 ), Integration Project SB RAS (grant 0341-2017-0001 ). The authors are indebted to Nikolaj M. Budnev (Head of Applied Physics-Irkutsk State University), the captain and crew of the Geolog research boat, and Dmitry Gladkochub (Director of IEC) in facilitating and organizing 2013 fieldwork. Thank you as well to D. White and I. Filinov for 2014 fieldwork assistance. We also thank Miles Irving at UCL Department of Geography for help with producing the map figure in this manuscript.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Mercury (Hg) loading in Lake Baikal, a UNESCO world heritage site, is growing and poses a serious health concern to the lake's ecosystem due to the ability of Hg to transform into a toxic form, known as methylmercury (MeHg). Monitoring of Hg into Lake Baikal is spatially and temporally sparse, highlighting the need for insights into historic Hg loading. This study reports measurements of Hg concentrations from water collected in August 2013 and 2014 from across Lake Baikal and its main inflow, the Selenga River basin (Russia, Mongolia). We also report historic Hg contamination using sediment cores taken from the south and north basins of Lake Baikal, and a shallow lake in the Selenga Delta. Field measurements from August 2013 and 2014 show high Hg concentrations in the Selenga Delta and river waters, in comparison to pelagic lake waters. Sediment cores from Lake Baikal show that Hg enrichment commenced first in the south basin in the late-19th century, and then in the north basin in the mid-20th century. Hg flux was also 20-fold greater in the south basin compared to the north basin sediments. Hg enrichment was greatest in the Selenga Delta shallow lake (Enrichment Ratio (ER) = 2.3 in 1994 CE), with enrichment occurring in the mid-to late-20th century. Local sources of Hg are predominantly from gold mining along the Selenga River, which have been expanding over the last few decades. More recently, another source is atmospheric deposition from industrial activity in Asia, due to rapid economic growth across the region since the 1980s. As Hg can bioaccumulate and biomagnify through trophic levels to Baikal's top consumer, the world's only truly freshwater seal (Pusa sibirica), it is vital that Hg input at Lake Baikal and within its catchment is monitored and controlled.
AB - Mercury (Hg) loading in Lake Baikal, a UNESCO world heritage site, is growing and poses a serious health concern to the lake's ecosystem due to the ability of Hg to transform into a toxic form, known as methylmercury (MeHg). Monitoring of Hg into Lake Baikal is spatially and temporally sparse, highlighting the need for insights into historic Hg loading. This study reports measurements of Hg concentrations from water collected in August 2013 and 2014 from across Lake Baikal and its main inflow, the Selenga River basin (Russia, Mongolia). We also report historic Hg contamination using sediment cores taken from the south and north basins of Lake Baikal, and a shallow lake in the Selenga Delta. Field measurements from August 2013 and 2014 show high Hg concentrations in the Selenga Delta and river waters, in comparison to pelagic lake waters. Sediment cores from Lake Baikal show that Hg enrichment commenced first in the south basin in the late-19th century, and then in the north basin in the mid-20th century. Hg flux was also 20-fold greater in the south basin compared to the north basin sediments. Hg enrichment was greatest in the Selenga Delta shallow lake (Enrichment Ratio (ER) = 2.3 in 1994 CE), with enrichment occurring in the mid-to late-20th century. Local sources of Hg are predominantly from gold mining along the Selenga River, which have been expanding over the last few decades. More recently, another source is atmospheric deposition from industrial activity in Asia, due to rapid economic growth across the region since the 1980s. As Hg can bioaccumulate and biomagnify through trophic levels to Baikal's top consumer, the world's only truly freshwater seal (Pusa sibirica), it is vital that Hg input at Lake Baikal and within its catchment is monitored and controlled.
KW - Atmospheric deposition
KW - Lake sediments
KW - Mercury
KW - Mining
U2 - 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113814
DO - 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113814
M3 - Article
SN - 0269-7491
VL - 259
JO - Environmental Pollution
JF - Environmental Pollution
ER -