Mercury in the Waters of the Jundiaí River, SP, Brazil: The Role of Dissolved Organic Matter

Global Meta‐Analysis on the Relationship Between Mercury and Dissolved Organic Carbon in Freshwater Environments

“…As for THg, MeHg revealed a good distribution on the funnel plot and no asymmetry ( z = 0.66, p = 0.51). Negative relationships were found for only 8% (7/85) of all cases for THg (Brigham et al, ; Fagnani et al, ; Noh et al, ; Porvari & Verta, ; Vidon et al, ) and 12% (7/59) for MeHg (Bravo et al, ; Brazeau et al, ; Guedron et al, ; Porvari & Verta, ; Riscassi et al, ).…”

“…Although the vast majority of relationships (all Hg and DOC forms confounded) were positive, we unexpectedly found a few cases where relationships were negative. Negative relationships were not only found in studies conducted in systems impacted by anthropogenic activities such as urban areas (Brigham et al, 2009), intense industrialization (Fagnani et al, 2012), waste water (Guedron et al, 2014), artificial reservoirs (Noh et al, 2016), mining activities (Eckley et al, 2015), and near an old lithium industry but also in natural systems (Bravo et al, 2017;Brazeau et al, 2013;Porvari & Verta, 2003;Vidon et al, 2014). A possible explanation for these negative relationships is that anthropogenic or natural inputs of Hg that are not accompanied by DOC inputs alter the basic relationship.…”

“…In total, 108 studies were excluded through that screening process. A total of 44 studies were kept from this search (Bergman & Bump, ; Berndt et al, ; Berndt & Bavin, ; Braaten et al, ; Bravo et al, ; Brazeau et al, ; Burns et al, , , ; Burton et al, ; Chaves‐Ulloa et al, ; de Wit et al, ; Demers et al, ; Denkenberger et al, ; Dranguet et al, ; Eckley et al, ; Eklöf et al, ; Ekstrom et al, ; Fagnani et al, ; Gerson & Driscoll, ; Girard et al, ; Guedron et al, ; Hamelin et al, ; Haverstock et al, ; Houben et al, ; Jeremiason et al, ; Leopold et al, ; Loftin et al, ; Luo et al, ; MacMillan et al, ; Moreno et al, ; Navratil et al, ; Noh et al, ; Oswald & Branfireun, ; Painter et al, ; Picado & Bengtsson, ; Poste et al, ; Pyhtila et al, ; Riscassi et al, ; Sherman & Blum, ; Tjerngren et al, ; Ukonmaanaho et al, ; Vidon et al, ; Voss et al, ). We included additional studies that have been cited by the abovementioned pool of studies more than five times specifically in reference to the relationship (or lack thereof) between Hg and DOC (eight studies; Brigham et al, ; Dittman & Driscoll, ; Dittman et al, ; Dittman et al, ; Driscoll et al, ; Eklöf et al, ; Porvari & Verta, ; Riscassi & Scanlon, ; Sørensen et al, ).…”

“…In total, 108 studies were excluded through that screening process. A total of 44 studies were kept from this search (Bergman & Bump, 2014;Berndt et al, 2016;Berndt & Bavin, 2012;Braaten et al, 2014;Bravo et al, 2017;Brazeau et al, 2013;Burns et al, 2012Burns et al, , 2013Burns et al, , 2014Burton et al, 2013;Chaves-Ulloa et al, 2016;de Wit et al, 2014;Demers et al, 2013;Denkenberger et al, 2014;Dranguet et al, 2017;Eckley et al, 2015;Eklöf et al, 2013;Ekstrom et al, 2016;Fagnani et al, 2012;Gerson & Driscoll, 2016;Girard et al, 2016;Guedron et al, 2014;Hamelin et al, 2015;Haverstock et al, 2012;Houben et al, 2016;Jeremiason et al, 2016;Leopold et al, 2012;Loftin et al, 2012;Luo et al, 2014;MacMillan et al, 2015;Moreno et al, 2016;Navratil et al, 2015;Noh et al, 2016;Oswald & Branfireun, 2014;Painter et al, 2015;Picado & Bengtsson, 2012;Poste et al, 2015;Pyhtila et al, 2012;Riscassi et al, 2016;Sherman & Blum, 2013;…”

Introduction

“…Coprostanol and the ratio of some selected sterols were used as chemical markers of fecal contamination in the estuarine area of Cubatão by Campos et al (2012) in "Fecal sterols in estuarine sediments as markers of sewage contamination in the Cubatão area, São Paulo, Brazil." Finally, Fagnani et al (2012) discuss the reducing properties of the organic matter in rivers with different degrees of contamination in the paper "Mercury in the waters of the Jundiai River, SP, Brazil: the role of dissolved organic matter. "…”