Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mass Balance Studies of Mercury and Methyl Mercury in Small Temperate/Boreal Lakes of the Northern Hemisphere

  • Chapter
Global and Regional Mercury Cycles: Sources, Fluxes and Mass Balances

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASEN2,volume 21))

Abstract

Mass balance studies in Wisconsin, Canada, and Sweden indicate that atmospheric deposition is the principal source of Hg to many lakes, whether delivered directly or indirectly via terrestrial runoff. The reported depositional flux varies 10-fold among these northern regions (3 to 30g Hg/km2/y). Watershed export rates vary from about 1 to 6 g Hg/km2/y, indicating that a substantial fraction of the atmospheric load is retained by terrestrial catchments. Hg residence times vary from 150 to 300 days in small Wisconsin lakes. Losses occur through sedimentation, outflow, and gaseous evasion. Environmental factors such as pH and dissolved humic matter (DHM) effect the budgets, concentrations, and speciation of Hg in lakewaters. Sedimentation is favored by low pH and low DHM, gaseous evasion is favored by high pH, and high MeHg concentrations are favored by high DHM and low pH. Multiple regression models containing DHM and pH explained 85% to 90% of the variability in waterborne Hg (0.2 to 4.8 ng/L) and methyl mercury (MeHg: 0.04 to 2.2 ng/L) among WI lakes ranging in pH from 4.5 to 8 and in organic carbon from 1 to 22 mg/L. It is unclear whether DHM affects MeHg production in lakes or simply reflects co-transport with organic C from riparian wetland. Northern wetlands export 0.1 to 1 g MeHg/km2/y along with 10 to 100 kg C/ha/y (versus <0.05 g MeHg/km2/y from uplands and 0.03 to 0.3 g MeHg/km2/y deposited atmospherically). In Little Rock Lake, WI, pelagic fish are the largest reservoir for MeHg while organic sediments are the largest Hg(II) reservoir. Biotic MeHg concentrations increase 2-fold to 4-fold with increasing trophic level, but MeHg turnover rates are highest at low trophic levels. We estimate turnover rates of 5 g MeHg/km2/y by pelagic microorganisms versus 0. 5 g MeHg/km2/y by pelagic fish. These high turnover rates may indicate that in situ rates of MeHg formation and destruction are correspondingly high.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 259.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 329.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. World Health Organization. 1990. Methyl mercury: Environmental Health Criteria 101., WHO, Geneva.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Watras, C.J. and Bloom, N.S. 1992. Mercury and Methyl mercury in individual Zooplankton: implications for bioaccumulation. Limnol. Oceanogr. 37:1313–1318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Bloom, N.S. 1992. On the chemical form of mercury in edible fish and marine invertebrate tissue. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 49:1010–1017.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Lindqvist, O. (ed.) 1991. Mercury in the Swedish environment: recent research on causes, consequences, and corrective measures. Water, Air, Soil Pollut.55:1–261.(Special Issue).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Watras, C.J. et al. 1994. Sources and fates of mercury and methylmercury in northern Wisconsin lakes, in C.J. Watras and J.W. Huckabee (eds.), Mercury Pollution: integration and synthesis, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 153–180.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Clarkson, T.W. 1990. Human health risks from methylmercury in fish. Environ. Toxicol.Chem. 9:957–961.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Salonen, J.T. et al. 1995. Intake of mercury from fish, lipid peroxidation and the risk of myocardial infarction and coronary, cardiovascular and any death in eastern Finnish men. Circulation 91: 645–655.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wheatley, B. and Paradis, S. 1995. Exposure of Canadian aboriginal peoples to methylmercury. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 3–11.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Roelke, M.E., Schultz, D.P., Facemire, CF., Sundorf, S.F., and Royals, H.E. 1991. Mercury contamination in Florida panthers. Report of the Florida Panther Technical Subcommittee.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Meyer, M.W. et al. 1995. Common loons nesting on low pH lakes in northern Wisconsin have elevated blood mercury content. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 871–880.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Lindqvist, O. (ed). 1991. Mercury as an environmental pollutant. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 56:1–847 (Special Volume).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Watras, C.J. and Huckabee, J.W., (eds). 1994. Mercury Pollution: integration and synthesis. Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Johansson, K., et al. 1991. Mercury in Swedish forest soils and waters — assessment of critical load. Water Air, Soil Pollut. 56: 267–281.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Iverfeldt, A. and Johansson, K. 1988. Mercury in runoff water from small watersheds. Verh. Internat. Verein. Limnol. 23:1626–1632.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Mierle, G. and Ingram, R. 1991. The role of humic substances in the mobilization of mercury from watersheds. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 56: 349–358.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. St. Louis, V. et al. 1994. Importance of wetlands as sources of methylmercury to boreal forest ecosystems. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 51: 1065–1076.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Pettersson, C. et al. 1995. Relations between organic carbon and methylmercury in humic rich surface waters from Svartberget catchment in northern Sweden. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 971–979.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Hultberg, H., Munthe, J. and Iverfeldt, A. 1995. Cycling of methylmercury and mercury — responses in the forest roof catchment to three years of decreased atmospheric deposition. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 415–424.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Iverfeldt, A. et al. 1995. Longterm changes in concentration and deposition of atmospheric mercury over Scandinavia. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 227–233.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Johansson, K. and Iverfeldt, A. 1994. The relation between mercury content in soil and the transport of mercury from small catchments in Sweden, in C.J. Watras and J.W. Huckabee (eds.), Mercury Pollution: integration and synthesis, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 323–328.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Krabbenhoft, D. et al. 1995. Mercury cycling in the Allequash Creek watershed in northern Wisconsin. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 425–433.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Bishop, K. et al. 1995. Terrestrial sources of methylmercury in surface waters: the importance of the riparian zone on the Svartberget catchment. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 435–444.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. St. Louis, V. et al. 1995. Wet deposition of methylmercury in northwestern Ontario compared to other geographic locations. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 405–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Rudd, J.W.M. 1995. Sources of methylmercury to freshwater ecosystems: a review. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 697–713.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Allard, B. and Arsenie, I. 1991. Abiotic reduction of mercury by humic substances in aquatic systems: and important process for the mercury cycle. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 56: 457–464.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Watras, C.J., Morrison, K.A., Host, J., and Bloom, N.S. 1995. Concentration of mercury species in relation to other site-specific factors in the surface waters of northern Wisconsin lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 40: 556–565.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Watras, C.J. and Bloom, N.S. 1994. The vertical distribution of mercury species in Wisconsin lakes: accumulation in plankton layers, in C.J. Watras and J.W. Huckabee (eds.), Mercury Pollution: integration and synthesis, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 137–151.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Watras, C.J. et al. 1995. Methylmercury production in the anoxic hypolifnnion of a dimictic seepage lake. Water, Air,Soil Pollut. 80: 735–745.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Back, R.C and C.J. Watras. 1995. Mercury in Zooplankton of northern Wisconsin lakes: taxonomic and site specific trends. Water,Air,Soil Pollut. 80:931–938.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Visman, V. 1995. Methylmercury accumulation by larval Chaoborus: Experimental, modelling and field perspectives. MS. Thesis. York University, Ontario, Canada.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Hudson, R.J.M., Gherini, S.A., Watras, C. J., and Porcella, D.B. 1994. Modelling the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in lakes: the MCM model and its application to the MTL lakes, in C.J. Watras and J.W. Huckabee (eds.), Mercury Pollution: integration and synthesis, Lewis Publishers, Boca Raton, FL, pp. 473–526.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Watras, C.J., Morrison, K.A., and Bloom, N.S. 1995. Mercury in remote Rocky Mountain lakes of Glacier National Park, Montana, in comparison with other temperate North American regions. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 52: 1220–1228.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Driscoll, CT. et al. 1994. The mercury cycle and fish in the Adirondack lakes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 28: 136–143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  34. Compeau, G.C. and Bartha, R. 1985. Sulfate reducing bacteria: principal methylators of mercury in anoxic marine sediments. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 50: 498–502.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Gilmour, C.C., Henry, E.A., and Mitchell, R. 1991. Sulfate stimulation of mercury methylation in freshwater sediments. Environ. Sci. Technol. 26: 2281–2287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Choi, S-C. and Bartha, R. 1992. Cobalamine-mediated mercury methylation by Desufovibrio desulfuricans LS. Appl. Environ. Microbiol 59: 290–295.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Back, R.C., Visman, V., and Watras, C.J. 1995. Micro-homogenation of individual Zooplankton species improves mercury and methylmercury determinations. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  38. Grieb, T.C. et al. 1990. Factors affecting mercury accumulation in fish in the Upper Michigan peninsula. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 9: 919–930.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. Xiao, Z.F., Stromberg, D., and Lindqvist, O. 1995. Influence of humic substances on photolysis of divalent mercury in aqueous solution. Water, Air, Soil Pollut. 80: 789–798.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Watras, C.J., Morrison, K.A., and Bloom, N.S. 1995. Chemical correlates of Hg and methyl-Hg in northern Wisconsin lakewaters under ice-cover. Water, Air, Soil Pollut 84: 253–267.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bureau of Research, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Trout Lake Station, University of Wisconsin, 10810, Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, USA, 54512

    C. J. Watras, K. A. Morrison & R. C. Back

Authors
  1. C. J. Watras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. K. A. Morrison
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. R. C. Back
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Analytical Chemistry, Free University of Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Willy Baeyens

  2. GKSS Forschungszentrum Geesthacht Gmbh, Max Planckstaβe 1, 21502, Geesthacht, Germany

    Ralf Ebinghaus

  3. Institute for Water and Environmental Problems, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 105 Papaninsev Street, 65099, Barnaul, Russia

    Oleg Vasiliev

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Watras, C.J., Morrison, K.A., Back, R.C. (1996). Mass Balance Studies of Mercury and Methyl Mercury in Small Temperate/Boreal Lakes of the Northern Hemisphere. In: Baeyens, W., Ebinghaus, R., Vasiliev, O. (eds) Global and Regional Mercury Cycles: Sources, Fluxes and Mass Balances. NATO ASI Series, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1780-4_17

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1780-4_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7295-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1780-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation