Abstract
Surface waters, sediments and the polychaete Nereis diversicolor were sampled in the ScheldtEstuary between 1990 and 1994. In surface watersparticulate Hg (HgP) concentrations ranged from350–1610 ng g-1. They are essentiallycontrolled by physical mixing of polluted fluvialparticulates with relatively unpolluted marineparticulates, but unaffected by seasonal changes.Dissolved Hg species, on the other hand, show largeseasonal variations essentially controlled by theredox conditions in the estuary, as well as bybacterial and phytoplankton activity. Total dissolvedHg (HgTD) concentrations ranged from 0.5 to 3.0 ngl-1 with 10 to 90% as reactive Hg. Highconcentrations of HgTD are found in the upperestuary in the winter and decrease rapidly withincreasing salinity. In summer HgTDconcentrations are low in the anoxic upper estuary andincrease as oxygen is restored in the estuary.Significant variations were observed in dissolvedMonomethyl Hg (MMHg) concentrations withconcentrations ranging from 0.01 to 0.120 ng l-1 in the winter and 0.08 to 0.6 ng l-1 in summerand autumn. Particulate MMHg ranged from 2 to 6 ngg-1 in winter and from 4 to 10 ng g-1 insummer and accounted for 20 to 80% of the total MMHg.Hg° concentrations ranged from 0.02 to 0.130 ngl-1 and are higher in summer than in winter. Inthe lower estuary a positive correlation betweenHg° and phytoplankton pigments was observed.
Sediments and the polychaete N. diversicolorwere sampled on the intertidal flat GrootBuitenschoor. Hg_T concentrations in surfacesediments ranged from 144 to 1890 ng g-1 and MMHgfrom 0.8 to 6 ng g-1 accounting for 0.4 to 0.8%of the total mercury present. Both total Hg (HgT)and MMHg concentrations increased with increasedorganic matter content and anoxic conditions. On theother hand, accumulation of HgT and MMHg washigher in N. diversicolor living in coarse grainsandy sediments than in muddy sediments. MMHgconcentrations in N. diversicolor ranged from2.2 to 20.9 ng g-1 accounting for an average of18% of the HgT. Seasonal variationssignificantly affected Hg speciation in sediments andN. diversicolor. Higher HgT concentrationswere found in the sediments in autumn and winter,whereas MMHg concentrations increased in spring andsummer. Likewise, higher MMHg concentrations were alsoobserved in N. diversicolor in spring andsummer.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen, J. & T. Niilonen (eds), 1995. North Sea Progress Report, 4th International Conference on the Protection of the North Sea, Danish EPA, Copenhagen, Denmark, 247 pp.
Baeyens, W., 1992. Speciation of mercury in different compartments of the environment. TRAC, Trends Anal. Chem. 11: 245–254.
Baeyens, W. & M. Leermakers, 1996. Particulate, dissolved and methylmercury budgets for the Scheldt estuary (Belgium and the Netherlands). In W. Baeyens, R. Ebinghaus & O. Vasiliev (eds), Global and Regional Mercury Cycles: Sources, fluxes and mass balances, Kluwer Academic Publishers: 285–301.
Baeyens, W., 1998. Evolution of trace metal concentrations in the Scheldt estuary (1978–1995). A comparison with other estuarine and ocean levels. Hydrobiologia 366: 157–167.
Baeyens, W., G. T. M. Van Eck, C. Lambert, R. Wollast & L. Goeyens, 1998. General description of the Scheldt estuary. Hydrobiologia 366: 1–14.
Balls, P. W., 1988. The control of trace metal concentrations in coastal seawater through partitioning onto suspended matter. Neth. J. Sea Res. 22: 213–218.
Bellama, M., K. L. Jewett, W. F. Manders & J. D. Nier, 1988. A comparison of the rates of methylation of Hg(II) species in aquatic media by various organitin and organosilicon moities. Sci. Total Envir. 73: 39–51.
Berman, M., T. Chase & R. Bartha, 1990. Carbon flow in mercury biomethylation by desulfovibrio desulfuricans. Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 56: 298–300.
Bloom, N. & E. Crecelius, 1983. Determination of Hg in seawater at sub nanogram per liter levels. Mar. Chem. 14: 49–59.
Bloom, N. & W. F. Fitzgerald, 1988. Determination of volatile Hg species at picogram levels by low temperature gas chromatography with CVAFS detection. Anal. Chim. Acta. 208: 151–161.
Bloom, N., 1989. Determination of picogram levels of methylmercury by aqueous phase ethylation, followed by cryogenic gas chromatography with cold vapour atomic fluorescence detection. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 46: 1131–1140.
Bryan, G. W. & W. J. Langston, 1992. Bioavailability, accumulation and effects of heavy metals in sediments with special reference to United Kingdom estuaries: a review. Envir. Pollut. 76: 89–131.
Coquery, M. & D. Cossa, 1996. Mercury speciation in surface waters of the North Sea. Neth. J. Sea Res., in press.
Compeau, G. & R. Bartha, 1985. Sulfate reducing bacteria: principal methylators of mercury in anoxic estuarine sediments. Appl. Envir. Microbiol. 50: 498–502.
Cossa, D., C. Gobeil & P. Coureau, 1988. Dissolved mercury behaviour in the Saint Lawrence estuary. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 26: 227–230.
Cossa, D. & J. M. Martin. 1991. Mercury in the Rhone delta and adjacent marine areas. Mar. Chem. 36: 291–302.
Craig, P. J. & P. D. Bartlett, 1978. The role of H2S in the environmental transport of Hg. Craig Nature 275: 635–638.
Craig, P. J., 1986. Organomercury compounds in the Environment: Principals and Reactions. Longman Group Ltd. Essex, 362 pp.
Craig, P. J. & P. A. Moreton, 1986. Total mercury, methylmercury and sulfide levels in British estuarine sediments III. Wat. Res. 20: 1111–1118.
Davidson, A. T. & H. J. Marchant, 1987. Binding of manganese by Antartic Phaeocystis pouchetii and the role of bacteria in its release. Mar. Biol. 95: 481–487.
Decadt, G., 1985. Contribution to the study of the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the Southern Bight of the North Sea. PhD Dissertation. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 172 pp.
Decadt, G., W. Baeyens, D. Bradley & L. Goeyens, 1985. Determination of methylmercury in biological samples by semiautomated headspace analysis. Anal. Chem. 57: 2788–2791.
Dennaï, N., N. Dhanaut-Coutois, J. M. Bouquegneau & A. Nejmeddine, 1986. Effects du cadmium et du mercure sur un ver marin (Nereis diversicolor). Mécanismes de détoxification. C. R. Acad. Sci., Ser. 302: 489–494.
Devolder, M., Ph. D’Hondt & G. Verreet, 1991. Stofdossier 1: Kwik. Ministerie van Volksgezondheid en Leefmilieu. Beheerseenheid Mathematisch Model Noordzee, 101 pp.
Ericksen, K. D. H., H. L. Daae & R. A. Andersen, 1988. Evidence of presence of heavy metal binding proteins in polychaete species. Comp. Biochem. Physiol. A. 91: 377–384.
Gill, G. A. & W. F. Fitzgerald, 1987. Picomolar Hg measurements in seawater and other materials using stannous chloride reduction and two stage amalgamation with gas phase detection. Mar. Chem. 20: 227–243.
Gilmour, C., E. A. Henry & R. Mitchell, 1992. Sulfate stimulation of mercury methylation in freshwater sediments. Envir. Sci. Technol. 26: 2281–2287.
Horvat, M., N. Bloom & L. Liang, 1993. Comparison of distillation with other current isolation methods for the determination of methylmercury compounds in low level environmental samples. Part 1. Sediments. Anal. Chim. Acta. 281: 135–152.
Howell, G. N. & M. J. O’Connor, 1986. Methylmercury generation in seawater by transmethylation of organolead and-tin. Aust. J. Chem. 39: 1167–1175.
Iverfeldt, A. & O. Lindqvist, 1984. The transfer of mercury at the air-sea interface. In W. Brusart & G. H. Jirka (eds), Gas Transfer at Water Surfaces, D. Reidel Publishing Company: 533–538.
Iverfeldt, A., 1988. Mercury in the Norwegian fjord Framvaren. Mar. Chem. 23: 441–456.
Kerry, A., P. M. Welbourn, B. Prucha & G. Mierle, 1991. Mercury methylation by sulfate reducing bacteria from sediments of an acid stressed lake. Wat. Air Soil Pollut. 56: 565–575.
Kim, J. P. & W. F. Fitzgerald, 1986. Sea-air partitioning of mercury in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean. Science 231: 1131–1133.
Langston, W. J., 1986. Metals in sediments and benthic organisms in the Mersey estuary. Estuar. coast. Shelf Sci. 23: 239–261.
Leermakers, M., P. Lansens & W. Baeyens, 1990. Storage and stability of inorganic and methylmercury solutions. Fresenius’ J. Anal. Chem. 336: 656–662.
Leermakers, M., M. Elskens, S. Panutrakul, F. Monteny & W. Baeyens, 1993. Geochemistry of mercury in an intertidal flat of the Scheldt estuary. Neth. J. Aquat. Ecol. 27: 267–277.
Mason, R. P., W. F. Fitzgerald, J. Jr. Hurley, P. L. Donaghay & J. M. Sieburth, 1993. Mercury biogeochemical cycling in a stratified estuary. Limnol. Oceanogr. 38: 1227–1241.
Mason, R. P., K. R. Rolfhus & W. F. Fitzgerald, 1995. Methylated and elemental mercury cycling in surface and deep ocean waters of the Northern Atlantic. Wat. Air Soil Pollut. 80: 665–677.
Miron, G., V. Brock & E. Kristensen, 1994. Effects of mercury on the ventilation behaviour of the polychaete Nereis virens(Sar.). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 184: 67–81.
Muhaya, B., M. Leermakers & W. Baeyens, 1997. Total mercury and methylmercury in sediments and polychaete Nereis Diversicolor at the Groot Buitenschoor (Scheldt estuary, Belgium). Wat. Air Soil Pollut. 94: 109–123.
Nagase, H., Y. Ose, T. Sato & T. Ishikawa, 1984. Mercury methylation by compounds in humic matter. Sci. Total Envir. 73: 29–38.
Nakamura, K., M. Sakamoto, H. Uchiyama & O. Yagi, 1990. Organomercurial-volatilizing bacteria in the Hg polluted sediment of Minamata Bay, Japan. Appl. envir. Microbiol. 56: 304–305.
Odin, M., A. Feurtet-Mazel, F. Ribeyre & A. Boudou, 1994. Actions and interactions of temperature, pH and photoperiod on mercury bioaccumulation by nymphs of the burrowing mayfly Hexagenia Rigida, from the sediment contamination source. Envir. Toxicol. Chem. 13: 1291–1302.
Panutrakul, S. & W. Baeyens, 1991. Behaviour of heavy metals in a mud flat of the Scheldt estaury, Belgium. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 22: 128–134.
Panutrakul, S., 1993. Impact of the sulfur cycle on the mobilization of heavy metals in intertidal flat sediments. PhD Dissertation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 222 pp.
Rainbow, P. S., 1990. Heavy metal levels in marine invertebrates. In R. W. Furness & P. S. Rainbow (eds), Heavy metals in the marine environment. CRC Press, Inc. Boca Raton: 67–79.
Revis, N. W., T. R. Osborne, G. Holswoth & C. Hadden, 1989. Distribution of Hg species in soil from a Hg-contaminated site. Wat. Air Soil Pollut. 45: 105–113.
Sanemasa, I., 1975. The solubility of elemental mercury vapor in water. Bull. Chem. Soc. Jpn. 48: 1795–1798.
Somville, M. & N. De Pauw, 1982. Influence of temperature and river discharge on water quality of the Western Scheldt estuary. Wat. Res. 16: 1349–1356.
Srinetr, V., 1992. The spatial diatribution of sediment bound metals and their relationships to bioavailability. A case study on the Groot Buitenschoor, Scheldt estuary. M. S. Dissertation, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 155 pp.
Van Impe, J., 1985. Estuarine pollution as a probable cause of increase of estuarine birds. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 16: 271–276.
Ysebaert, T., P. Meire, D. Maes & J. Buys, 1993. The benthic macrofauna along the estuarine gradient of the Scheldt estuary. Neth. J. Aquat. Ecol. 27: 327–341.
Zwolsman, J. J. G. & G. T. M. Van Eck, 1993. Dissolved and particulate trace metal geochemistry in the Scheldt estuary, S.W. Netherlands (water column and sediments). Neth. J. Aquat. Ecol. 27: 287–300.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Baeyens, W., Meuleman, C., Muhaya, B. et al. Behaviour and speciation of mercury in the Scheldt estuary (water, sediments and benthic organisms). Hydrobiologia 366, 63–79 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003124310848
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1003124310848