Atmospheric Mercury Depositional Chronology Reconstructed from Lake Sediments and Ice Core in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau

Environmental Science and Technology

Volumn 50, Issue 6, 2016, Pages 2859-2869

  Kang, Shichang ^a,c   Huang, Jie ^b,c,h   Wang, Feiyue ^d   Zhang, Qianggong ^b,c   Zhang, Yulan ^a,h   Li, Chaoliu ^b,c,h   Wang, Long ^e   Chen, Pengfei ^b   Sharma, Chhatra Mani ^f   Li, Qing ^g   Sillanpää, Mika ^h   Hou, Juzhi ^b   Xu, Baiqing ^b,c   Guo, Junming ^b,h,i  

^a Chinese Academy of Sciences ^*  (China)

^b INSTITUTE OF GEOLOGY AND GEOPHYSICS   (China)

^c CAS CENTER FOR EXCELLENCE IN TIBETAN PLATEAU EARTH SCIENCES   (China)

^d UNIVERSITY OF MANITOBA   (Canada)

^e TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY   (China)

^f KATHMANDU UNIVERSITY   (Nepal)

^g SOUTHWEST UNIVERSITY   (China)

^h LAPPEENRANTA UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY   (Finland)

ⁱ UNIVERSITY OF CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES   (China)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEPOSITION; DEPOSITION RATES; LAKE POLLUTION; LAKES; MERCURY (METAL); METEOROLOGICAL PROBLEMS; MILITARY OPERATIONS; SEDIMENTATION; SEDIMENTS;

ACCUMULATION RATES; ANTHROPOGENIC CONTAMINANTS; ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITIONS; ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY; HIMALAYA-TIBET REGION; INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTIONS; LAKE SEDIMENT CORES; LONG TERM RECORDS;

ICE;

MERCURY; AIR POLLUTANT;

ANTHROPOGENIC EFFECT; ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION; CHRONOLOGY; ICE CORE; LACUSTRINE DEPOSIT; MERCURY (ELEMENT); MOUNTAIN REGION; RECONSTRUCTION; SEDIMENT CORE; SEDIMENT POLLUTION;

ARTICLE; ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION; CHINA; CHRONOLOGY; COMPARATIVE STUDY; CONCENTRATION (PARAMETERS); CONTROLLED STUDY; DRY DEPOSITION; ICE CORE RECORD; LAKE SEDIMENT; SEDIMENTATION RATE; SURFACE PROPERTY; AIR POLLUTANT; ALTITUDE; ASIA; ATMOSPHERE; CHEMISTRY; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; HUMAN; ICE COVER; INDUSTRY; LAKE; SEDIMENT; TIBET;

CHINA; HIMALAYAS; QINGHAI-XIZANG PLATEAU;

AIR POLLUTANTS; ALTITUDE; ASIA; ATMOSPHERE; ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING; GEOLOGIC SEDIMENTS; HUMANS; ICE COVER; INDUSTRY; LAKES; MERCURY; TIBET;

EID: 84962526767     PISSN: 0013936X     EISSN: 15205851     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.5b04172     Document Type: Article

References (71)

1. Schroeder, W. H.; Munthe, J. Atmospheric mercury-an overview Atmos. Environ. 1998, 32, 809-822 10.1016/S1352-2310(97)00293-8
2. Holmes, C. D.; Jacob, D. J.; Corbitt, E. S.; Mao, J.; Yang, X.; Talbot, R.; Slemr, F. Global atmospheric model for mercury including oxidation by bromine atoms Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2010, 10, 12037-12057 10.5194/acp-10-12037-2010
3. Fitzgerald, W. F.; Engstrom, D. R.; Lamborg, C. H.; Tseng, C. M.; Balcom, P. H.; Hammerschmidt, C. R. Modern and historic atmospheric mercury fluxes in northern Alaska: global sources and Arctic depletion Environ. Sci. Technol. 2005, 39, 557-568 10.1021/es049128x
4. Engstrom, D. R.; Fitzgerald, W. F.; Cooke, C. A.; Lamborg, C. H.; Drevnick, P. E.; Swain, E. B.; Balogh, S. J.; Balcom, P. H. Atmospheric Hg emissions from preindustrial gold and silver extraction in the Americas: A reevaluation from lake-sediment archives Environ. Sci. Technol. 2014, 48, 6533-6543 10.1021/es405558e
5. Beal, S. A.; Osterberg, E. C.; Zdanowicz, C. M.; Fisher, D. A. Ice core perspective on mercury pollution during the past 600 years Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49, 7641-7647 10.1021/acs.est.5b01033
6. UNEP Mercury-Acting Now! United Nations Environment Programme Chemicals Branch, Geneva, Switzerland, 2013.
7. Mergler, D.; Anderson, H. A.; Chan, L. H. M.; Mahaffey, K. R.; Murray, M.; Sakamoto, M.; Stern, A. H. Methylmercury exposure and health effects in humans: a worldwide concern Ambio 2007, 36, 3-11 10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[3:MEAHEI]2.0.CO;2
8. Zhang, Q.; Pan, K.; Kang, S.; Zhu, A.; Wang, W. X. Mercury in Wild Fish from High-Altitude Aquatic Ecosystems in the Tibetan Plateau Environ. Sci. Technol. 2014, 48, 5220-5228 10.1021/es404275v
9. Qiu, J. The third pole Nature 2008, 454, 393-396 10.1038/454393a
10. Loewen, M.; Kang, S.; Armstrong, D.; Zhang, Q.; Tomy, G.; Wang, F. Atmospheric transport of mercury to the Tibetan Plateau Environ. Sci. Technol. 2007, 41, 7632-7638 10.1021/es0710398
11. Wang, X. P.; Yao, T. D.; Wang, P. L.; Yang, W.; Tian, L. D. The recent deposition of persistent organic pollutants and mercury to the Dasuopu glacier, Mt. Xixiabangma, central Himalayas Sci. Total Environ. 2008, 394, 134-143 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.01.016
12. Wang, X.; Yang, H.; Gong, P.; Zhao, X.; Wu, G.; Turner, S.; Yao, T. One century sedimentary records of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mercury and trace elements in the Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau Environ. Pollut. 2010, 158, 3065-3070 10.1016/j.envpol.2010.06.034
13. Yang, H.; Battarbee, R. W.; Turner, S. D.; Rose, N. L.; Derwent, R. G.; Wu, G.; Yang, R. Historical reconstruction of mercury pollution across the Tibetan Plateau using lake sediments Environ. Sci. Technol. 2010, 44, 2918-2924 10.1021/es9030408
14. Xu, B.; Cao, J.; Hansen, J.; Yao, T.; Joswia, D. R.; Wang, N.; Wu, G.; Wang, M.; Zhao, H.; Yang, W. Black soot and the survival of Tibetan glaciers Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2009, 106, 22114-22118 10.1073/pnas.0910444106
15. Shi, Y.; Liu, C.; Kang, E. The glacier inventory of China Ann. Glaciol. 2009, 50, 1-4 10.3189/172756410790595831
16. Bonasoni, P.; Laj, P.; Marinoni, A.; Sprenger, M.; Angelini, F.; Arduini, J.; Bonafe, U.; Calzolari, F.; Colombo, T.; Decesari, S. Atmospheric Brown Clouds in the Himalayas: first two years of continuous observations at the Nepal Climate Observatory-Pyramid (5079 m) Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2010, 10, 7515-7531 10.5194/acp-10-7515-2010
17. Hindman, E. E.; Upadhyay, B. P. Air pollution transport in the Himalayas of Nepal and Tibet during the 1995-1996 dry season Atmos. Environ. 2002, 36, 727-739 10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00495-2
18. Cong, Z.; Kawamura, K.; Kang, S.; Fu, P. Penetration of biomass-burning emissions from South Asia through the Himalayas: new insights from atmospheric organic acids Sci. Rep. 2015, 5, 9580 10.1038/srep09580
19. Lüthi, Z. L.; Škerlak, B.; Kim, S. W.; Lauer, A.; Mues, A.; Rupakheti, M.; Kang, S. Atmospheric Brown Clouds reach the Tibetan Plateau by crossing the Himalayas Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2015, 15, 1-15
20. Burger Chakraborty, L.; Qureshi, A.; Vadenbo, C.; Hellweg, S. Anthropogenic mercury flows in India and impacts of emission controls Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47, 8105-8113 10.1021/es401006k
21. Pacyna, E. G.; Pacyna, J.; Sundseth, K.; Munthe, J.; Kindbom, K.; Wilson, S.; Steenhuisen, F.; Maxson, P. Global emission of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in 2005 and projections to 2020 Atmos. Environ. 2010, 44, 2487-2499 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2009.06.009
22. Streets, D. G.; Zhang, Q.; Wu, Y. Projections of global mercury emissions in 2050 Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 2983-2988 10.1021/es802474j
23. Streets, D. G.; Devane, M. K.; Lu, Z.; Bond, T. C.; Sunderland, E. M.; Jacob, D. J. All-time releases of mercury to the atmosphere from human activities Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45, 10485-10491 10.1021/es202765m
24. Schuster, P. F.; Krabbenhoft, D. P.; Naftz, D. L.; Cecil, L. D.; Olson, M. L.; Dewild, J. F.; Susong, D. D.; Green, J. R.; Abbott, M. L. Atmospheric mercury deposition during the last 270 years: a glacial ice core record of natural and anthropogenic sources Environ. Sci. Technol. 2002, 36, 2303-2310 10.1021/es0157503
25. Schwikowski, M.; Barbante, C.; Doering, T.; Gaeggeler, H. W.; Boutron, C.; Schotterer, U.; Tobler, L.; Van de Velde, K.; Ferrari, C.; Cozzi, G. Post-17th-century changes of European lead emissions recorded in high-altitude alpine snow and ice Environ. Sci. Technol. 2004, 38, 957-964 10.1021/es034715o
26. McConnell, J. R.; Edwards, R. Coal burning leaves toxic heavy metal legacy in the Arctic Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2008, 105, 12140-12144 10.1073/pnas.0803564105
27. Jitaru, P.; Gabrielli, P.; Marteel, A.; Plane, J. M. C.; Planchon, F. A. M.; Gauchard, P. A.; Ferrari, C. P.; Boutron, C. F.; Adams, F. C.; Hong, S. Atmospheric depletion of mercury over Antarctica during glacial periods Nat. Geosci. 2009, 2, 505-508 10.1038/ngeo549
28. Kaspari, S. D.; Mayewski, P. A.; Handley, M.; Osterberg, E.; Kang, S.; Sneed, S. B.; Hou, S.; Qin, D. Recent increases in atmospheric concentrations of Bi, U, Cs, S and Ca from a 350-year Mount Everest ice core record J. Geophys. Res. 2009, 114, D04302 10.1029/2008JD011088
29. Liu, Y.; Hou, S.; Hong, S.; Hur, S. D.; Lee, K.; Wang, Y. High-resolution trace element records of an ice core from the eastern Tien Shan, central Asia, since 1953 AD J. Geophys. Res. 2011, 116, D12307 10.1029/2010JD015191
30. Lalonde, J. D.; Poulain, A. J.; Amyot, M. The role of mercury redox reactions in snow on snow-to-air mercury transfer Environ. Sci. Technol. 2002, 36, 174-178 10.1021/es010786g
31. Poulain, A. J.; Lalonde, J. D.; Amyot, M.; Shead, J. A.; Raofie, F.; Ariya, P. A. Redox transformations of mercury in an Arctic snowpack at springtime Atmos. Environ. 2004, 38, 6763-6774 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2004.09.013
32. Huang, J.; Kang, S.; Guo, J.; Sillanpää, M.; Zhang, Q.; Qin, X.; Du, W.; Tripathee, L. Mercury distribution and variation on a high-elevation mountain glacier on the northern boundary of the Tibetan Plateau Atmos. Environ. 2014, 96, 27-36 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2014.07.023
33. Grigholm, B.; Mayewski, P.; Kang, S.; Zhang, Y.; Morgenstern, U.; Schwikowski, M.; Kaspari, S.; Aizen, V.; Aizen, E.; Takeuchi, N. Twentieth century dust lows and the weakening of the westerly winds over the Tibetan Plateau. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2015, 42, Doi: 2434 10.1002/2015GL063217.
34. Kang, S.; Wang, F.; Morgenstern, U.; Zhang, Y.; Grigholm, B.; Kaspari, S.; Schwikowski, M.; Ren, J.; Yao, T.; Qin, D. Dramatic loss of glacier accumulation area on the Tibetan Plateau revealed by ice core tritium and mercury records Cryosphere 2015, 9, 1213-1222 10.5194/tc-9-1213-2015
35. Wang, C.; Gu, T.; Chi, Q.; Yan, W.; Yan, M. New series of rock and sediment geochemical reference materials Geostand. Geoanal. Res. 2001, 25, 145-152 10.1111/j.1751-908X.2001.tb00794.x
36. US EPA. Method 1631: Mercury in Waterby Oxidation, Purgeand Trap, and Cold Vapor Atomic Fluorescence Spectrometry. RevisionE. Office of Water, Washington, DC (EPA-821-R-02-19), (2002.
37. Zhang, Q.; Huang, J.; Wang, F.; Loewen, M.; Xu, J.; Armstrong, D.; Li, C.; Zhang, Y.; Kang, S. Mercury distribution and deposition in glacier snow over western China Environ. Sci. Technol. 2012) 46, 5404-5413 10.1021/es300166x
38. Chen, D.; Yuxuan, W.; McElroy, M. B.; He, K.; Yantosca, R. M.; Le Sager, P. Regional CO pollution and export in China simulated by the high-resolution nested-grid GEOS-Chem model Atmos. Chem. Phys. 2009, 9, 3825-3839 10.5194/acp-9-3825-2009
39. Zhang, L.; Wang, S.; Wang, L.; Wu, Y.; Duan, L.; Wu, Q.; Wang, F.; Yang, M.; Yang, H.; Hao, J. Updated emission inventories for speciated atmospheric mercury from anthropogenic sources in China Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49, 3185-3194 10.1021/es504840m
40. Selin, N. E.; Jacob, D. J. Seasonal and spatial patterns of mercury wet deposition in the United States: Constraints on the contribution from North American anthropogenic sources Atmos. Environ. 2008, 42, 5193-5204 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2008.02.069
41. Selin, N. E.; Jacob, D. J.; Park, R. J.; Yantosca, R. M.; Strode, S.; Jaeglé, L.; Jaffe, D. Chemical cycling and deposition of atmospheric mercury: Global constraints from observations J. Geophys. Res. 2007, 112, 1071-1077 10.1029/2006JD007450
42. Wrozyna, C.; Frenzel, P.; Steeb, P.; Zhu, L.; van Geldern, R.; Mackensen, A.; Schwalb, A. Stable isotope and ostracode species assemblage evidence for lake level changes of Nam Co, southern Tibet, during the past 600 years Quat. Int. 2010, 212 (1) 2-13 10.1016/j.quaint.2008.12.010
43. Zheng, J. Archives of total mercury reconstructed with ice and snow from Greenland and the Canadian High Arctic Sci. Total Environ. 2015, 509-510, 133-144 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.05.078
44. Li, P.; Feng, X.; Qiu, G.; Shang, L.; Li, Z. Mercury pollution in Asia: a review of the contaminated sites J. Hazard. Mater. 2009, 168, 591-601 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2009.03.031
45. Yanai, M.; Wu, G. X. Effects of the Tibetan Plateau. In the Asian Monsoon; Springer: Berlin, 2005; pp 513-549.
46. Xiao, C.; Qin, D.; Yao, T.; Ren, J.; Li, Y. Spread of lead pollution over remote regions and upper troposphere: glaciochemical evidence from polar regions and Tibetan Plateau Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 2001, 66, 691-698 10.1007/s001280064
47. Cong, Z.; Kang, S.; Gao, S.; Zhang, Y.; Li, Q.; Kawamura, K. Historical trends of atmospheric black carbon on Tibetan Plateau as reconstructed from a 150-year lake sediment record Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47, 2579-2586 10.1021/es3048202
48. Boutron, C. F.; Vandal, G. M.; Fitzgerald, W. F.; Ferrari, C. P. A forty year record of mercury in central Greenland snow Geophys. Res. Lett. 1998, 25, 3315-3318 10.1029/98GL02422
49. Frolova, N.; Eyrikh, S.; Papina, T.; Schwikowski, M. Time-space estimate of the variation in a level of mercury pollution of the Altai atmosphere according to layer-by-layer analysis of high mountain glacier Chem. Sust. Dev. 2008, 16, 227-234
50. Sheng, J.; Wang, X.; Gong, P.; Tian, L.; Yao, T. Heavy metals of the Tibetan top soils Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res. 2012, 19, 3362-3370 10.1007/s11356-012-0857-5
51. Huang, J.; Kang, S.; Zhang, Q.; Jenkins, M.; Guo, J.; Zhang, G.; Wang, K. Spatial distribution and magnification processes of mercury in snow from high-elevation glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau Atmos. Environ. 2012, 46, 140-146 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2011.10.008
52. Lalonde, J. D.; Amyot, M.; Doyon, M. R.; Auclair, J. C. Photo-induced Hg(II) reduction in snow from the remote and temperate Experimental Lakes area (Ontario, Canada) J. Geophys. Res. 2003, 108, ACL11/1-ACL11/8 10.1029/2001JD001534
53. Ren, P. B. C.; Sigernes, F.; Gjessing, Y. Ground-based measurements of solar ultraviolet radiation in Tibet: Preliminary results Geophys. Res. Lett. 1997, 24, 1359-1362 10.1029/97GL01319
54. Zheng, X. D.; Zhou, X. J.; Tang, J.; Qin, Y.; Chan, C. A meteorological analysis on a low tropospheric ozone event over Xining, North Western China on 26-27 July 1996 Atmos. Environ. 2004, 38, 261-271 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2003.09.063
55. Mann, E. A.; Mallory, M. L.; Ziegler, S. E.; Tordon, R.; O'Driscoll, N. J. Mercury in Arctic snow: Quantifying the kinetics of photochemical oxidation and reduction Sci. Total Environ. 2015, 509, 115-132 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2014.07.056
56. Mishra, P. N. The Langtang National Park: A proposed first biosphere reserve in Nepal J. Natl. Sci. Found. Sri Lanka 2011, 31 (1-2) 333-335 10.4038/jnsfsr.v31i1-2.3045
57. Sharma, C. M.; Kang, S.; Sillanpää, M.; Li, Q.; Zhang, Q. G.; Huang, J.; Tripathee, L.; Sharma, S.; Paudyal, R. Mercury and selected trace elements from a remote (Gosainkunda) and an urban (Phewa) lake waters of Nepal Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 2015, 226 (2) 1-10 10.1007/s11270-014-2276-3
58. Huang, J.; Kang, S.; Zhang, Q.; Guo, J.; Sillanpää, M.; Wang, Y.; Sun, S.; Sun, X.; Tripathee, L. Characterizations of wet mercury deposition on a remote high-elevation site in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau Environ. Pollut. 2015, 206, 518-526 10.1016/j.envpol.2015.07.024
59. Zhang, Q.; Kang, S. Comment on "Ice Core Perspective on Mercury Pollution during the Past 600 Years Environ. Sci. Technol. 2016, 50, 1065-1067 10.1021/acs.est.5b04320
60. Fitzgerald, W. F.; Engstrom, D. R.; Mason, R. P.; Nater, E. A. The case for atmospheric mercury contamination in remote areas Environ. Sci. Technol. 1998, 32, 1-7 10.1021/es970284w
61. Sun, L.; Yin, X.; Liu, X.; Zhu, R.; Xie, Z.; Wang, Y. A 2000-year record of mercury and ancient civilizations in seal hairs from King George Island, West Antarctica Sci. Total Environ. 2006, 368, 236-247 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.09.092
62. Muir, D.; Wang, X.; Yang, F.; Nguyen, N.; Jackson, T.; Evans, M.; Douglas, M.; Kock, G.; Lamoureux, S.; Pienitz, R. Spatial trends and historical deposition of mercury in eastern and northern Canada inferred from lake sediment cores Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43, 4802-4809 10.1021/es8035412
63. Phillips, V. J.; Louis, V. L., St.; Cooke, C. A.; Vinebrooke, R. D.; Hobbs, W. O. Increased mercury loadings to western Canadian alpine lakes over the past 150 years Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45, 2042-2047 10.1021/es1031135
64. Engstrom, D. R.; Swain, E. B. Recent Declines in Atmospheric Mercury Deposition in the Upper Midwest Environ. Sci. Technol. 1997, 31, 960-967 10.1021/es9600892
65. Lockhart, W.; Wilkinson, P.; Billeck, B.; Danell, R.; Hunt, R.; Brunskill, G.; Delaronde, J.; Louis, V. S. Fluxes of mercury to lake sediments in central and northern Canada inferred from dated sediment cores Biogeochemistry 1998, 40, 163-173 10.1023/A:1005923123637
66. Engstrom, D. R.; Swain, E. B.; Balogh, S. J. History of mercury inputs to Minnesota lakes: Influences of watershed disturbance and localized atmospheric deposition Limnol. Oceanogr. 2007, 52, 2467-2483 10.4319/lo.2007.52.6.2467
67. Mast, M. A.; Manthorne, D. J.; Roth, D. A. Historical deposition of mercury and selected trace elements to high-elevation National Parks in the Western US inferred from lake-sediment cores Atmos. Environ. 2010, 44, 2577-2586 10.1016/j.atmosenv.2010.04.024
68. Lindeberg, C.; Bindler, R.; Bigler, C.; Rosén, P.; Renberg, I. Mercury pollution trends in subarctic lakes in northern Swedish mountains Ambio 2007, 36, 401-405 10.1579/0044-7447(2007)36[401:MPTISL]2.0.CO;2
69. Bindler, R.; Renberg, I.; Appleby, P. G.; Anderson, N. J.; Rose, N. L. Mercury accumulation rates and spatial patterns in lake sediments from west Greenland: a coast to ice margin transect Environ. Sci. Technol. 2001, 35, 1736-1741 10.1021/es0002868
70. Bindler, R.; Olofsson, C.; Renberg, I.; Frech, W. Temporal trends in mercury accumulation in lake sediments in Sweden Water, Air, Soil Pollut.: Focus 2001, 1, 343-355 10.1023/A:1017561701141
71. Horowitz, H. M.; Jacob, D. J.; Amos, H. M.; Streets, D. G.; Sunderland, E. M. Historical mercury releases from commercial products: Global environmental implications Environ. Sci. Technol. 2014, 48, 10242-10250 10.1021/es501337j