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Mercury and Selected Trace Elements from a Remote (Gosainkunda) and an Urban (Phewa) Lake Waters of Nepal

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Abstract

Two lakes, one from the remote high altitude on the southern slope of the Himalaya (Lake Gosainkunda) and another from the urban mid-hill area (Lake Phewa) were studied for evaluating anthropogenic inputs of the pollutants, particularly mercury (Hg) and other trace elements (TEs) (such as Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb). A total of 77 water samples, 24 from Lake Gosainkunda and 53 from Lake Phewa were collected from different depth profiles during October/November 2010. Concentrations of Hg were significantly higher in Lake Gosainkunda compared to Lake Phewa probably due to long-range transport of Hg and its deposition on high altitudes of the Himalayas, in addition to the probable natural geological sources. Some of the TEs (such as Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, and Co) show crustal origin in Lake Gosainkunda, whereas others such as Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb indicate possible anthropogenic origin (enrichment factor (EF) > 4). On the other hand, Al, V, Cr, Ni, and Cu show crustal origin in Lake Phewa and the remaining TEs (Mn, Fe, Co, Zn, Cd, and Pb) showed high EF values relative to the crustal elements suggesting potential anthropogenic inputs of the pollutants. The study further indicates that two studied lakes have different potential sources for Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu regarding TE pollution. A high enrichment of Cd and Pb in high-altitude lake (with less anthropogenic activities) compared to the low-altitude lake (with high anthropogenic activities) indicates atmospheric long-range transportation of the pollutants in remote areas of the Himalayas which might be possible as air masses pass through the industrial areas and deposit in the high altitudes.

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Acknowledgments

The financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41225002 and 41121001), Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB03030504, 2009Y2AZ10), State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences (SKLCS-ZZ-2013-01-01), and Academy of Finland (Grant No. 264307) are highly appreciated. The fieldwork was coordinated by the experts of Himalayan Environment Research Institute (HERI). MSc students of the Environmental Science at Kathmandu University and faculties (Dr. Smriti Gurung and Ms. Rosha Raut) deserve our sincere thanks for accompanying in the fieldwork.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human and Natural Resources Studies Centre, Kathmandu University, P.O. Box 6250, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Chhatra Mani Sharma

  2. Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 10085, China

    Chhatra Mani Sharma, Qing Li, Qianggong Zhang, Jie Huang & Lekhendra Tripathee

  3. Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, FI-50130, Mikkeli, Finland

    Chhatra Mani Sharma, Mika Sillanpää & Rukumesh Paudyal

  4. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Shichang Kang & Rukumesh Paudyal

  5. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Shichang Kang

  6. Himalayan Environment Research Institute (HERI), Kathmandu, Nepal

    Lekhendra Tripathee & Rukumesh Paudyal

  7. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Science, Kathmandu University, P.O. Box 6250, Kathmandu, Nepal

    Subodh Sharma

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  1. Chhatra Mani Sharma
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Sharma, C.M., Kang, S., Sillanpää, M. et al. Mercury and Selected Trace Elements from a Remote (Gosainkunda) and an Urban (Phewa) Lake Waters of Nepal. Water Air Soil Pollut 226, 6 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-014-2276-3

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