Mercury in lake sediment cores of eastern and northern Canada

Recent and historical deposition of mercury (Hg) are examined over a broad geographic area from southwestern Northwest Territories to Labrador and from the U.S. Northeast to northern Ellesmere Island using dated sediment cores from 50 lakes (18 in midlatitudes (41-50 degrees North), 14 subarctic (51-64 degrees North) and 18 in the Arctic (65-83 degrees North)). Objectives were to quantify latitudinal and longitudinal trends of anthropogenic mercury deposition in eastern and northern North America, to investigate variations in mercury deposition, to examine relationships with lake area, catchment/lake area ratio and sedimentation rates, and to compare results with model predictions.



Distinct increases of mercury over time were observed in 76% of Arctic, 86% of subarctic and 100% of midlatitude cores. Subsurface maxima in mercury depositional fluxes were observed in only 28% of midlatitude lakes and 18% of arctic lakes, indicating little recent reduction of inputs. Anthropogenic mercury fluxes adjusted for sediment focusing and changes in sedimentation rates were negatively correlated with latitude. The latitudinal trend for anthropogenic mercury fluxes adjusted for sediment focusing and changes in sedimentation rates values showed excellent agreement with predictions of the global/regional atmospheric heavy metal (mercury) model (GRAHM) for the geographic location of each lake. The results are consistent with a scenario of slow atmospheric oxidation of mercury, and slow deposition of reactive mercury emissions, declining with increasing latitude away from emission sources in the midlatitudes, and support the view that there are significant anthropogenic mercury inputs in the Arctic.

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Metadata Record Information

File Identifier
56fbf46f-2883-410c-a830-2836bcfd29f0 XML
Date Stamp
2022-11-09T14:37:21
Metadata language

eng; CAN
Character set
UTF8
Hierarchy Level
Dataset
Point of contact
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology / Aquatic Contaminants Research Division

867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
 

Data identification

Title

Mercury in lake sediment cores of eastern and northern Canada
Date (Publication)
2018-04-30
Date (Creation)
2012-02-15
Status
Completed
Metadata language

eng; CAN
Topic category
  • Environment
Maintenance and Update Frequency
Not planned
Spatial representation type
Text, table
Originator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology / Aquatic Contaminants Research Division - Dr. Derek Muir ( Research scientist)

867 Lakeshore Rd., Burlington, Ontario, L7S 1A1, Canada
Collaborator
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada; Science and Technology Branch / Water Science and Technology Directorate / Watershed Hydrology and Ecology Research Division - Dr. Marlene Evans ( Research scientist)

11 Innovation Blvd., Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, S7N 3H5, Canada

Keywords

Place

  • Arctic lakes

  • Subarctic lakes

  • Mid-latitude lakes

  • Arctic
Theme

  • Observation/Measurement

  • Northern Contaminants Program (NCP)

  • Mercury

  • Contaminants

  • Sediment cores

  • Northern Ecosystem Initiative (NEI)

  • Toxic Substances Research Initiative (TSRI)

ECCC Information Category EN

  • Nature and Biodiversity - Contaminants

Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus

  • Arctic

Business Functions

  • Assess Toxicity, Manage and Monitor for Environmental Presence of Hazardous Substances and Waste

  • Monitor / Assess Substance and Waste Levels in Air, Water, Soil, Biota

Geography

  • National (CA)

Branch

  • Science and Technology Branch

Directorate

  • Water Science and Technology

Program (PAA)

  • 1.2.1. Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystems Health

GC Security Level

  • Unclassified
 
Use Limitation

Open Government Licence - Canada ( http://open.canada.ca/en/open-government-licence-canada)

Access Constraints
License
Use Constraints
License
Begin Date
1998-07-01
End Date
2005-09-01
Begin Date
1998-07-01
End Date
2005-09-01

Extent

N
S
E
W
thumbnail




 
 

Ref. system Reference Systems

Reference system identifier
http://www.epsg-registry.org / EPSG:4326 /
 

Distribution

Distribution Formats

Distribution format
  • CSV ( 1)

 
Distributor
  Government of Canada; Environment and Climate Change Canada - Public inquiries centre

Fontaine Building 12th floor, 200 Sacré-Coeur Blvd., Gatineau, Quebec, K1A 0H3, Canada
1-800-668-6767

https://www.canada.ca
 
 

Overviews

N
S
E
W
thumbnail




Keywords

Arctic Arctic lakes Contaminants Mercury Mid-latitude lakes Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) Northern Ecosystem Initiative (NEI) Observation/Measurement Sediment cores Subarctic lakes Toxic Substances Research Initiative (TSRI)
Branch

Science and Technology Branch
Business Functions

Assess Toxicity, Manage and Monitor for Environmental Presence of Hazardous Substances and Waste Monitor / Assess Substance and Waste Levels in Air, Water, Soil, Biota
Directorate

Water Science and Technology
ECCC Information Category EN

Nature and Biodiversity - Contaminants
GC Security Level

Unclassified
Government of Canada Core Subject Thesaurus

Arctic
Program (PAA)

1.2.1. Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystems Health


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