Is the Negro River Basin (Amazon) impacted by naturally occurring mercury?

Citation
Ps. Fadini et Wf. Jardim, Is the Negro River Basin (Amazon) impacted by naturally occurring mercury?, SCI TOTAL E, 275(1-3), 2001, pp. 71-82
Citations number
62
Categorie Soggetti
Environment/Ecology
Journal title
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
ISSN journal
00489697 → ACNP
Volume
275
Issue
1-3
Year of publication
2001
Pages
71 - 82
Database
ISI
SICI code
0048-9697(20010725)275:1-3<71:ITNRB(>2.0.ZU;2-F
Abstract
In order to investigate the major sources and cycling of mercury in the Neg ro River Basin (Amazon), total metal measurements were carried out in soils , in river and lake waters, in the atmosphere, and in bulk precipitation du ring the period 1995 throughout 1998. Median values of 1.3 ng m(-3) in the atmosphere, 172 mug kg(-1) in soils, 4.6-7.5 ng l(-1) in three different la kes, 4.5 ng l(-1) in 17 different Negro River tributaries and 20.3 mug m(-2 ) year(-1) in bulk precipitation were found. Mercury concentrations in rive rs and lakes waters, as well as in soils and bulk precipitation were high, considering the scarcity of anthropogenic point sources in the region. Merc ury leaching from soil, the largest regional reservoir of this metal, was c onsidered to be the major pathway to mercury enrichment in the region. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.