Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP)
The effects of climate change on long-term mercury (Hg) cycling are still not well understood, as climate changes are usually gradual and can only be assessed using high-resolution archives. Our study site (a small, lowland tectonic lake in Sulawesi, Indonesia) provides a unique opportunity to furth...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1241176/full |
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| author | Jalene Nalbant Larissa Schneider Larissa Schneider Rebecca Hamilton Rebecca Hamilton Simon Connor Simon Connor Harald Biester Hilary Stuart-Williams Olga Bergal-Kuvikas Geraldine Jacobsen Janelle Stevenson Janelle Stevenson |
| author_facet | Jalene Nalbant Larissa Schneider Larissa Schneider Rebecca Hamilton Rebecca Hamilton Simon Connor Simon Connor Harald Biester Hilary Stuart-Williams Olga Bergal-Kuvikas Geraldine Jacobsen Janelle Stevenson Janelle Stevenson |
| author_sort | Jalene Nalbant |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The effects of climate change on long-term mercury (Hg) cycling are still not well understood, as climate changes are usually gradual and can only be assessed using high-resolution archives. Our study site (a small, lowland tectonic lake in Sulawesi, Indonesia) provides a unique opportunity to further understanding of Hg cycling in the Southeast Asian (SEA) tropics during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, a period of significant climate variability. We present a high-resolution record of Late Glacial and Holocene Hg deposition within the sediments of tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi. Using a multi-proxy framework (including pollen, charcoal, carbon:nitrogen ratio and high-resolution geochemistry records) we investigate the response of Hg accumulation rates (HgAR) in sediments to shifts in climate between ∼16,488 and 538 cal BP. This period encompasses the Bølling-Allerød (BA) warming, Younger Dryas (YD) cooling and Holocene warming events, providing new insights into the effects of global climatic transitions on HgAR in SEA sediments. The Pleistocene Termination had the highest HgAR and substantial variability (µ = 11.32, 5.38–33.91 μg m−2 yr−1), when drier conditions and high charcoal accumulation rates suggest that fire activity was the main source of Hg to the lake. The Holocene Transition was marked by a decrease in HgAR (µ = 8, 3.50–18.84 μg m−2 yr−1) as humid conditions precluded forest burning, followed by high HgAR (µ = 11.35, 3.30–158.32 μg m−2 yr−1) in the Early Holocene. Mercury accumulation rate in the Late Holocene (µ = 3.80, 1,67–43.65 μg m−2 yr−1) was the lowest in the Lake Lantoa record, marked by the lowest fire events and a stable catchment. An increase in carbon:nitrogen ratios during the Late Holocene, coupled with a decrease in HgAR, suggests that the establishment of lowland forest resulted in suppressed Hg erosion/leaching. Our results demonstrate that forest fires, vegetation change and volcanism are important drivers of Hg inputs to Lake Lantoa, a relationship which is strongly mediated by climate and lake-catchment dynamics. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:32:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-30c54705d6824bb98498e9e6bf07a29b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4486 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T16:32:58Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry |
| spelling | doaj.art-30c54705d6824bb98498e9e6bf07a29b2023-10-23T21:31:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry2673-44862023-10-01410.3389/fenvc.2023.12411761241176Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP)Jalene Nalbant0Larissa Schneider1Larissa Schneider2Rebecca Hamilton3Rebecca Hamilton4Simon Connor5Simon Connor6Harald Biester7Hilary Stuart-Williams8Olga Bergal-Kuvikas9Geraldine Jacobsen10Janelle Stevenson11Janelle Stevenson12School of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaSchool of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaSchool of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaSchool of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaInstitut für Geoökologie, AG Umweltgeochemie, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, GermanyResearch School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaInstitute of Volcanology and Seismology FEB RAS, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, RussiaCentre for Accelerator Science, Australian Nuclear Science & Technology Organisation, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaSchool of Culture, History and Language, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, AustraliaThe effects of climate change on long-term mercury (Hg) cycling are still not well understood, as climate changes are usually gradual and can only be assessed using high-resolution archives. Our study site (a small, lowland tectonic lake in Sulawesi, Indonesia) provides a unique opportunity to further understanding of Hg cycling in the Southeast Asian (SEA) tropics during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene, a period of significant climate variability. We present a high-resolution record of Late Glacial and Holocene Hg deposition within the sediments of tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi. Using a multi-proxy framework (including pollen, charcoal, carbon:nitrogen ratio and high-resolution geochemistry records) we investigate the response of Hg accumulation rates (HgAR) in sediments to shifts in climate between ∼16,488 and 538 cal BP. This period encompasses the Bølling-Allerød (BA) warming, Younger Dryas (YD) cooling and Holocene warming events, providing new insights into the effects of global climatic transitions on HgAR in SEA sediments. The Pleistocene Termination had the highest HgAR and substantial variability (µ = 11.32, 5.38–33.91 μg m−2 yr−1), when drier conditions and high charcoal accumulation rates suggest that fire activity was the main source of Hg to the lake. The Holocene Transition was marked by a decrease in HgAR (µ = 8, 3.50–18.84 μg m−2 yr−1) as humid conditions precluded forest burning, followed by high HgAR (µ = 11.35, 3.30–158.32 μg m−2 yr−1) in the Early Holocene. Mercury accumulation rate in the Late Holocene (µ = 3.80, 1,67–43.65 μg m−2 yr−1) was the lowest in the Lake Lantoa record, marked by the lowest fire events and a stable catchment. An increase in carbon:nitrogen ratios during the Late Holocene, coupled with a decrease in HgAR, suggests that the establishment of lowland forest resulted in suppressed Hg erosion/leaching. Our results demonstrate that forest fires, vegetation change and volcanism are important drivers of Hg inputs to Lake Lantoa, a relationship which is strongly mediated by climate and lake-catchment dynamics.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1241176/fullvolcanic mercury emissionslong-term mercury depositionSoutheast Asian mercury cycleprimary productivity and mercury accumulationforest fire mercury emissionseffects of climate change on mercury |
| spellingShingle | Jalene Nalbant Larissa Schneider Larissa Schneider Rebecca Hamilton Rebecca Hamilton Simon Connor Simon Connor Harald Biester Hilary Stuart-Williams Olga Bergal-Kuvikas Geraldine Jacobsen Janelle Stevenson Janelle Stevenson Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP) Frontiers in Environmental Chemistry volcanic mercury emissions long-term mercury deposition Southeast Asian mercury cycle primary productivity and mercury accumulation forest fire mercury emissions effects of climate change on mercury |
| title | Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP) |
| title_full | Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP) |
| title_fullStr | Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP) |
| title_short | Fire, volcanism and climate change: the main factors controlling mercury (Hg) accumulation rates in Tropical Lake Lantoa, Sulawesi, Indonesia (∼16,500–540 cal yr BP) |
| title_sort | fire volcanism and climate change the main factors controlling mercury hg accumulation rates in tropical lake lantoa sulawesi indonesia ∼16 500 540 cal yr bp |
| topic | volcanic mercury emissions long-term mercury deposition Southeast Asian mercury cycle primary productivity and mercury accumulation forest fire mercury emissions effects of climate change on mercury |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvc.2023.1241176/full |
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