Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T23:19:14.821Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hg distribution and speciation in Antarctic soils of the Fildes and Ardley peninsulas, King George Island

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2012

Renato Pereira De Andrade ,
Roberto Ferreira Machado Michel ,
Carlos Ernerto Gonçalves Reynaud Schaefer ,
Felipe Nogueira Bello Simas  and
Cláudia Carvalhinho Windmöller
Renato Pereira De Andrade
Affiliation:
Minas Gerais Federal Center for Technological Education, 35790-000, MG Brazil
Roberto Ferreira Machado Michel
Affiliation:
State Environment Foundation of Minas Gerais, 31630-900, MG Brazil
Carlos Ernerto Gonçalves Reynaud Schaefer
Affiliation:
Federal University of Viçosa, Soil Science Department, 36570-000, MG Brazil
Felipe Nogueira Bello Simas
Affiliation:
Federal University of Viçosa, Soil Science Department, 36570-000, MG Brazil
Cláudia Carvalhinho Windmöller*
Affiliation:
Federal University of Minas Gerais, Chemistry Department, 31270-901, MG Brazil
*
*Corresponding author: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Data on the content and speciation of mercury (Hg) in the soils of Antarctica are scarce and vary greatly between the regions studied, but overall Hg concentrations found were generally very low. We investigated the Hg quantity and speciation by solid-phase Hg pyrolysis and chemical fractionation in selected maritime Antarctic soils, comparing ornithogenic and non-ornithogenic areas of the Fildes and Ardley peninsulas of King George Island. The total Hg contents ranged from 4.3–256 ng g-1, and values for ornithogenic soils were the highest recorded for Antarctic soils. A close correlation between Hg and organic matter was observed in the ornithogenic soils, with levels decreasing with depth. In the non-ornithogenic soils, a correlation between Hg content and soil depth was also observed, but the values were found to increase with depth. Thermograms showed that all Hg was in the 2+ oxidation state and was predominantly linked to organic matter, corroborating the chemical fractionation results for the ornithogenic soils. These results show the need for further refined studies about the interactions of Hg with organic matter in order to better understand the biogeochemistry of this metal in the Antarctic environment.

Keywords

direct mercury analyserHg contaminationornithogenic soilssoil analysistotal mercury
Type
Earth Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 24 , Issue 4 , 17 July 2012 , pp. 395 - 407
Copyright
Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2012

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bargagli, R., Monaci, F.Bucci, C. 2007. Environmental biogeochemistry of mercury in Antarctic ecosystems. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 39, 1, 352–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bargagli, R., Agnorelli, C., Borghini, F.Monaci, F. 2005. Enhanced deposition and bioaccumulation of mercury in Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems facing a coastal polynya. Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 8150–8155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Biester, H.Scholz, C. 1997. Determination of mercury binding forms in contaminated soils: mercury pyrolysis versus sequential extractions. Environmental Science and Technology, 31, 233–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biester, H.Zimmer, H. 1998. Solubility changes of mercury binding forms in contaminated soils after immobilization treatment. Environmental Science and Technology, 32, 2755–2772.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biester, H., Gosar, M.Covelli, S. 2000. Mercury speciation in sediments affected by dumped mining residues in the drainage area of the Idrija mercury mine. Environmental Science and Technology, 34, 3330–3336.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bloom, N.S., Preus, E., Katon, J.Hiltner, M. 2003. Selective extractions to assess the biogeochemically relevant fractionation of inorganic mercury in sediments and soils. Analytica Chimica Acta, 479, 233–248.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowen, H. 1979. Environmental chemistry of the elements. New York: Academic Press, 348 pp.Google Scholar
Crockett, A.B. 1998. Background levels of metals in soils, McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 50, 289–296.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ebinghaus, R., Temme, C., Einax, J.W., Löwe, A.G., Richter, A., Burrows, J.P.Schoeder, W.H. 2002. Antarctic springtime depletion of atmospheric mercury. Environmental Science and Technology, 36, 1238–1244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gu, W., Zhou, C.Y., Wong, M.K.A.Gan, L.M. 1998. Orthogonal array design (OAD) for the optimization of mercury extraction from soils by dilute acid with microwave heating. Talanta, 46, 1019–1029.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Horvat, M. 1996. Mercury analysis and speciation in environmental samples. In Bayens, W., Ebinghaus, R.&Vasilev, O.,eds. Global and regional mercury cycles: sources fluxes and mass balance. NATO ASI Series 21, Dordrecht: Kluwer, 135–159.Google Scholar
Kim, C.S., Bloom, N.S., Rytuba, J.J.Brown, G.E. 2003. Mercury speciation by X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and sequential chemical extractions: a comparison of speciation methods. Environmental Science and Technology, 37, 5102–5108.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuo, S. 1996. Phosphorus. In Sparks, D.L.,ed. Methods of soil analysis, Part 3. Chemical methods. Madison, WI: Soil Science Society of America, 869–919.Google Scholar
Lacerda, L.D. 1997. Evolution of mercury contamination in Brazil. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 97, 247–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michel, R.F.M., Schaefer, C.E.G.R., Dias, L.E., Simas, F.N.B., Benites, V.M.Mendonça, E.S. 2006. Ornithogenic gelisols (cryosols) from Maritime Antarctica: pedogenesis, vegetation, and carbon studies. Soil Science Society of America Journal, 70, 1370–1376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nguyen, H.T., Kim, K.H., Shon, Z.H.Sungmin, H. 2009. A review of atmospheric mercury in the polar environment. Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology, 39, 552–584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ronov, A.B.Yaroshevsky, A.A. 1972. Earth's crust geochemistry. In Fairbridge, F.W., ed. Encyclopedia of geochemistry and environmental sciences. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 243–254.Google Scholar
Santos, I.R., Silva-Filho, E.V., Schaefer, C.E.G.R., Albuquerque-Filho, M.R.Campos, L.S. 2005. Heavy metals contamination in coastal sediments and soils near the Brazilian Antarctic station, King George Island. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 50, 185–194.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Santos, I.R., Silva-Filho, E.V., Schaefer, C.E.G.R., Sella, S.M., Silva, C.A., Gomes, V., Passos, M.J.van Ngan, P. 2006. Baseline mercury and zinc concentrations in terrestrial and coastal organisms of Admiralty Bay, Antarctica. Environmental Pollution, 140, 304–311.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schuster, E. 1991. The behavior of mercury in the soil with special emphasis on complexation and adsorption processes - a review of the literature. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 56, 667–680.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, S.M., Siegel, B.Z.McMurtry, G. 1980. Atmosphere-soil mercury distribution: the biotic factor. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 13, 109–112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simas, F.N.B., Schaefer, C.E.G.R., Albuquerque-Filho, M.R., Francelino, M.R., Fernandes Filho, E.I.Costa, L.M. 2008. Genesis, properties and classification of cryosols from Admiralty Bay, Maritime Antarctica. Geoderma, 144, 116–122.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simas, F.N.B., Schaefer, C.E.G.R., Melo, V.F., Albuquerque-Filho, M.R., Michel, R.F.M., Pereira, V.V., Gomes, M.R.M.Costa, L.M. 2007. Ornithogenic cryosols from Maritime Antarctica: phosphatization as a soil forming process. Geoderma, 138, 191–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sladek, C., Gustin, M.S., Biester, H.Kim, C. 2002. Application of three methods for determining mercury speciation in mine waste. Geochemistry Exploration Environment Analysis, 2, 369–375.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sun, L., Yin, X., Liu, X., Zhu, R., Xie, Z.Wang, Y. 2006. A 2000-year record of mercury and ancient civilizations in seal hairs from King George Island, West Antarctica. Science of the Total Environment, 368, 236–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valle, C.M., Santana, G.Windmöller, C.C. 2006. Mercury conversion processes in Amazon soils evaluated by thermodesorption analysis. Chemosphere, 65, 1966–1975.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Valle, C.M., Santana, G., Augusti, R., Egreja-Filho, F.B.Windmöller, C.C. 2005. Speciation and quantification of mercury in oxisol, ultisol and spodosol from Amazon (Manaus, Brazil). Chemosphere, 58, 779–792.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vandal, G.M., Fitzgerald, W.F., Boutron, C.F.Candelone, J.P. 1993. Variations in mercury depositions in Antarctica over past 34,000 years. Nature, 364, 621–623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, J., Wang, Y., Wang, X.Sun, L. 2007. Penguins and vegetations on Ardley Island, Antarctica: evolution in the past 2,400 years. Polar Biology, 30, 1475–1481.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wedepohl, K.H. 1995. The composition of the continental crust. Geochimica Cosmochimica Acta, 59, 1217–1232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Windmöller, C.C., Wilken, R.D.Jardim, W.F. 1996. Mercury speciation in contaminated soils by thermal release analysis. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 89, 399–416.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Witherow, R.A.Lyons, W.B. 2008. Mercury deposition in a polar desert ecosystem. Environmental Science and Technology, 42, 4710–4716.CrossRefGoogle Scholar