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Linking Cellulose Fiber Sediment Methyl Mercury Levels to Organic Matter Decay and Major Element Composition

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Abstract

Methylation of mercury (Hg) to highly toxic methyl Hg (MeHg), a process known to occur when organic matter (OM) decomposition leads to anoxia, is considered a worldwide threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. We measured temporal and spatial variations in sediment MeHg, total Hg (THg), and major elements in a freshwater lagoon in Sweden polluted with Hg-laden cellulose fibers. Fiber decomposition, confined to a narrow surface layer, resulted in loss of carbon (C), uptake of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and sulfur (S), and increased MeHg levels. Notably, fiber decomposition and subsequent erosion of fiber residues will cause buried contaminants to gradually come closer to the sediment–water interface. At an adjacent site where decomposed fiber accumulated, there was a gain in C and a loss of S when MeHg increased. As evidenced by correlation patterns and vertical chemical profiles, reduced S may have fueled C-fixation and Hg methylation at this site.

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Acknowledgments

This study was part of a project initiated and run by the Kalmar County Administration and financed by the Swedish EPA. We thank the project manager Anna Aleljung and also Tommy Hammar, Kalmar County Administration and Bo Troedsson, Eman Catchment Management Association for taking part in the planning of the project and for providing equipment for field measurement and field sampling. As always, the mercury laboratory at IVL, Gothenburg determined mercury and methyl mercury with high accuracy and precision.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Aquatic Ecology, University of Lund, Sölvegatan 37, 223 62, Lund, Sweden

    Olof Regnell

  2. Kemakta Konsult AB, Box 12655, 112 93, Stockholm, Sweden

    Mark Elert & Lars Olof Höglund

  3. Akvaplan-niva AS, FRAM - High North Research Centre for Climate and the Environment, 9296, Tromsö, Norway

    Anna Helena Falk

  4. Environmental Unit, Kalmar County Administration, 391 86, Kalmar, Sweden

    Anders Svensson

Authors
  1. Olof Regnell
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  2. Mark Elert
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  3. Lars Olof Höglund
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  4. Anna Helena Falk
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  5. Anders Svensson
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Correspondence to Olof Regnell.

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Regnell, O., Elert, M., Höglund, L.O. et al. Linking Cellulose Fiber Sediment Methyl Mercury Levels to Organic Matter Decay and Major Element Composition. AMBIO 43, 878–890 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0487-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-013-0487-2

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