Mercury exports from a High-Arctic river basin in Northeast Greenland (74°N) largely controlled by glacial lake outburst floods

Søndergaard, Jens; Tamstorf, Mikkel P.; Elberling, Bo; Larsen, Martin Mørk; Mylius, Maria Rask; Lund, Magnus; Abermann, Jakob; Rigét, Frank

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.01.097

Cited by 44 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…It has been suggested that the distinctive MIF signature of odd‐numbered Hg isotopes (Δ 199 Hg and Δ 201 Hg) in coastal Arctic snow could be used as a tracer of AMDE‐deposited Hg in aquatic ecosystems [ Sherman et al ., ]. Our results, however, indicate that meltwater from glaciers and Arctic ice caps that enters such ecosystems [e.g., Søndergaard et al ., ] will likely carry Hg with a different isotopic imprint. This fact needs to be accounted for when attempting to track the fate of Hg in Arctic aquatic ecosystems using Hg isotopes. The range of Hg isotopic compositions measured in firn and glacier ice of Canadian Arctic ice caps overlaps with that of several possible known sources, some proximal, such as surface seawater in northern Baffin Bay, and some distant, such as volcanic emissions, or anthropogenic Hg emissions from various industrial processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical variations of mercury stable isotope ratios in Arctic glacier firn and ice cores

Zdanowicz

Krümmel

Poulain

et al. 2016

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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The concentration and isotopic composition of mercury (Hg) were determined in glacier core samples from Canadian Arctic ice caps dating from preindustrial to recent time (early 21st century). Mean Hg levels increased from ≤ 0.2 ng L−1 in preindustrial time to ~0.8–1.2 ng L−1 in the modern industrial era (last ~200 years). Hg accumulated on Arctic ice caps has Δ199Hg and Δ201Hg that are higher (~ −1 to 2.9‰) than previously reported for Arctic snow impacted by atmospheric Hg depletion events (mostly < −1‰), suggesting that these events contribute little to Hg accumulation on ice caps. The range of δ202Hg, Δ199Hg, and Δ201Hg in glacier cores overlaps with that of Arctic Hg0(g) and of seawater in Baffin Bay and also with that of midlatitude precipitation and industrial Hg sources, including coal and Hg ores. A core from Agassiz ice cap (80.7°N) shows a ~ +1‰ shift in δ202Hg over the nineteenth to twentieth centuries that could reflect changes in the isotopic composition of the atmospheric Hg pool in the High Arctic in response to growing industrial emissions at lower latitudes. This study is the first ever to report on historical variations of Hg stable isotope ratios in Arctic ice cores. Results could help constrain future modeling efforts of the global Hg biogeochemical cycle and the atmosphere's response to changing Hg emissions, past and future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Historical variations of mercury stable isotope ratios in Arctic glacier firn and ice cores

Zdanowicz

Krümmel

Poulain

et al. 2016

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…ZAC has since become a benchmark site for ecosystem studies in the high Arctic (Elberling et al 2008; Olesen et al 2010). Key findings of the process studies that have been carried out in the framework of the GEM include analyses of gas fluxes from the ground to the atmosphere (e.g., Mastepanov et al 2008; Lund et al 2012; Elberling et al 2013; Juncher Jørgensen et al 2014; Lund et al 2014), soil and plant dynamics (e.g., Elberling et al 2008), and runoff, water chemistry and snow-cover studies (e.g., Christoffersen et al 2008; Mernild et al 2008; Søndergaard et al 2015). These studies generally link the investigated process variable to climate as its driver.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hotspots and key periods of Greenland climate change during the past six decades

Abermann

Hansen

Lund

et al. 2017

Ambio

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We investigated air temperature and pressure gradients and their trends for the period 1996–2014 in Greenland and compared these to other periods since 1958. Both latitudinal temperature and pressure gradients were strongest during winter. An overall temperature increase up to 0.15 °C year−1 was observed for 1996–2014. The strongest warming happened during February at the West coast (up to 0.6 °C year−1), weaker but consistent and significant warming occurred during summer months (up to 0.3 °C year−1) both in West and East Greenland. Pressure trends on a monthly basis were mainly negative, but largely statistically non-significant. Compared with other time windows in the past six decades, the period 1996–2014 yielded an above-average warming trend. Northeast Greenland and the area around Zackenberg follow the general pattern but are on the lower boundary of observed significant trends in Greenland. We conclude that temperature-driven ecosystem changes as observed in Zackenberg may well be exceeded in other areas of Greenland.

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“…Previous river research in northeast Greenland has largely been restricted to hydrological research on sediment and solute transport dynamics Hasholt & Hagedorn, 2000;Ladegaard-Pedersen et al, 2016;Rasch, Elberling, Jakobsen, & Hasholt, 2000;Søndergaard et al, 2015), whereas ecological studies in freshwater systems have been principally restricted to lakes and ponds (e.g., Christoffersen, Amsinck, Landkildehus, Lauridsen, & Jeppesen, 2008).…”

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Spatio‐temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities in northeast Greenlandic snowmelt streams

et al. 2018

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Future climate change throughout the Arctic is expected to increase channel stability in glacially influenced streams through reduced contributions from glacial meltwater and increases in groundwater. In contrast, predictions for northeast Greenland of increased precipitation for the next 100 years-including winter snowfall-which with warmer air temperature, is expected to increase the size of spring floods in snowmelt streams. Coupled with increased disturbance through frequent summer rainfall events, nivation processes and permafrost degradation will reduce resistance of channel sediments to erosion and thereby decrease channel stability. Decreased channel stability will impact macroinvertebrate abundance and diversity. Five streams sourced by snowpacks of varying extent were studied over 3 summer seasons (2013)(2014)(2015) to investigate the potential effect of shift in snowmelt regime on macroinvertebrate communities.Total abundance and taxa richness were significantly higher in streams with small snowpacks, where the chironomid genus Hydrobaenus was the most abundant taxon.Streams with large snowpacks were dominated by the chironomid genus Diamesa.Multivariate ordination models and correlation indicated that macroinvertebrate communities were significantly influenced by channel stability and bed sediment size.Macroinvertebrate abundance was significantly higher in 2013, following low winter snowfall and associated low meltwater inputs to streams, highlighting interannual variability in macroinvertebrate communities.A shift towards less stable habitats in snowmelt streams will potentially lead to reduced macroinvertebrate abundance and taxa richness, and local extinction of specialized taxa. Thus, snowmelt-fed streams in northeast Greenland may respond very differently to changing climate compared with streams in parts of the Arctic dominated by glacial meltwater. KEYWORDSArctic, channel stability, Chironomidae, climate change, freshwater, hydroecology, meltwater, snowThis is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Mercury exports from a High-Arctic river basin in Northeast Greenland (74°N) largely controlled by glacial lake outburst floods

Cited by 44 publications

References 27 publications

Historical variations of mercury stable isotope ratios in Arctic glacier firn and ice cores

Historical variations of mercury stable isotope ratios in Arctic glacier firn and ice cores

Hotspots and key periods of Greenland climate change during the past six decades

Spatio‐temporal dynamics of macroinvertebrate communities in northeast Greenlandic snowmelt streams

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