Evidence for enhanced bioavailability of trace elements in the marine ecosystem of Deception Island, a volcano in Antarctica
Introduction
Antarctica is commonly considered a pristine continent because of natural barriers such as circumpolar atmospheric and oceanic currents as well as geographic remoteness that limit exchanges with other places on the planet (Berkman, 1992). Increase of trace element levels in Antarctica can result from human activity, either related to research and whaling stations on the continent, fishing boats, and tourist cruise ships (Lenihan & Oliver, 1995), or to airborne particles arriving from outside the continent via an atmospheric route (Bargagli, 2000).
Trace element input can also originate from natural events endemic to the continent, such as metal inputs from volcanic activity shown from numerous records from snow samples (Jiankang et al., 1999, Landy and Peel, 1981). Geothermal activity is another possible non-point source of trace elements in the Antarctic that could, for example, determine large-scale geographical metal signature in organisms. This was suggested for Mn in krill, because specimens from the northern part of the Antarctic peninsula, the location of many active geothermal sites (Klinkhammer et al., 2001, LeMasurier and Thompson, 1990), contain higher metal concentrations than those from the southern part (Palmer et al., 1995). There are two other sources of elevated natural contamination intrinsic to the Antarctic neritic ecosystem. First, Antarctic organisms can concentrate trace elements to higher concentrations than that of comparable species from temperate ecosystems (Clason et al., 2003, Kahle and Zauke, 2003), making, for example, slow growing and long-lived Antarctic organisms naturally enriched in metals, which can be magnified along the food chain (Nygard, Lie, Rov, & Steinnes, 2001). The second source of metals is related to the elevated primary productivity of the Antarctic pelagic ecosystem where a majority of phytoplankton, enriched in trace elements, settle out of the water column onto the ocean bottom floor, thus becoming a source of nutrients and also trace elements to the benthic community (Frew et al., 2001, Loscher, 1999, Sunda and Huntsman, 2000). Therefore,there are multiple routes of possible trace element contamination for Antarctic organisms and the concentrations of elements found in Antarctica are not necessarily the minimum concentrations expected of a pristine environment (Bargagli, 2001, Sanchez-Hernandez, 2000).
Deception Island is an active volcanic complex in the Antarctic Peninsula (Almendros et al., 1997, Rey et al., 1995). Geochemical analysis of caldera seafloor sediment shows a dominance of andesitic lava, rich in aluminum silicate (Baker et al., 1969, Rey et al., 1995). Trace elements occur within sediment in elevated concentrations. Sediment trace elements accumulate following geochemical transformation of volcaniclastic particles from past eruptions by leaching from ash and dust as well as terrigenous erosion from run-offs, or following ongoing geothermal activity via fumarole and/or hydrothermal venting from the underlying magma chamber. Dominant elements constitutive of seafloor sediment in the caldera are Fe, Mn, and Zn, and to a lesser extent As, Cr, Ti, and V (Rey et al., 1995, Rey et al., 1997, Rey Salgado et al., 1994). Although it is clear that the composition of Deception Island sediment is high in trace elements, it is not known whether these elements are actually available to marine organisms and enter the marine food chain.
The present study investigates the levels of trace elements found in the marine ecosystem at Deception Island during a quiescent phase of the volcano. The most common metals comprising Deception Island (Al, Fe, Mn, and Zn) and eleven other elements were analyzed from leachable extracts of sediment, seawater particulates, and the tissues of representative benthic and pelagic organisms to determine to what extent and via which route each of the elements can be accumulated by the marine fauna. Measurements were also performed from organisms collected in a neighboring non-active volcanic island to assess whether the level of trace elements found in organisms at Deception Island is related to active geothermal activity that enhances bioavailability of elements to local marine fauna.
Section snippets
Deception Island
Deception Island (63°00′S, 60°40′W, Antarctic Peninsula) is a horseshoe-shaped volcano with a 9.8 × 5.7 km caldera that is 160-m deep and flooded by the sea. The caldera, named Port Foster, is connected to the open ocean through a 550-m wide channel in the caldera wall that allows exchange of seawater and marine organisms, and passage of vessels. Deception Island therefore is a unique natural harbor, well protected from the open ocean. The island was the site of a whaling station and three
Results
In general, concentrations of leachable trace elements from sediments were higher than for seawater particulates, with the exception of Ag and Se, and concentrations in organisms were lower than in particulates, except for some elements (Cr, Cu, Ni, Se, Sr, and Zn) (Table 3). Overall, dominant trace elements (ranked in order of decreasing concentration) were Al > Fe > Sr in seawater particulates, Fe > Al > Mn for sediment, Fe > Al, Sr > Zn for benthic organisms, and Fe > Zn > Sr, Ni for pelagic organisms (
Discussion
Deception Island is an active volcano where marine sediment and seawater contain elevated concentrations of certain elements diffusing from geothermal sources and leaching from volcaniclastic material following marine weathering and run-off from the island (Elderfield, 1972, Inbar, 1995, Rey et al., 1995). The trace element input is diffuse and more or less continuous, and Deception Island can thus be considered a case of non-point source of trace elements (Laws, 2000). Deception Island follows
Acknowledgements
We thank to K.L. Smith for authorizing the collection of samples during the ERUPT program and for the use of the microscale, K. Walda for assistance with spectrometry, and H. Ruhl with preparation of Fig. 1. Supported in part by a grant from the University of California Toxic Substance Research and Training Program (to M.I.L.) and a NATO Fellowship (to D.D.D.).
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