Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia)
In rivers and other freshwater bodies, the presence of mercury can be due to direct contamination by anthropic activities such as gold mining. However, it can also be attributed to atmospheric deposition and erosion, runoff, or lixiviation from surrounding soils. In the case of the Amazon rainforest...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/23/8407 |
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| author | Fabiola Guzmán-Uria Isabel Morales-Belpaire Dario Achá Marc Pouilly |
| author_facet | Fabiola Guzmán-Uria Isabel Morales-Belpaire Dario Achá Marc Pouilly |
| author_sort | Fabiola Guzmán-Uria |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In rivers and other freshwater bodies, the presence of mercury can be due to direct contamination by anthropic activities such as gold mining. However, it can also be attributed to atmospheric deposition and erosion, runoff, or lixiviation from surrounding soils. In the case of the Amazon rainforest, high mercury contents have been reported for litter and topsoil, which could affect the mercury concentrations in water bodies. Samples of suspended particulate matter were obtained from a transect of the Itenez River, associated lakes, and some of its tributaries. The aim was to obtain information on particulate mercury’s origin in the study area and determine the relationship between particulate mercury and particulate organic carbon. The concentration of mercury, organic matter, and the C:N ratio of the suspended matter was determined. The concentration of particulate mercury by water volume depended on changes in suspended matter loads, which in turn were mostly affected by the nature of the watershed or sediment resuspension. The observed values for the percentage of organic matter and the C:N ratio suggest that most of the mercury content in rivers and lakes originated from soils. A positive correlation was found between mercury concentration by weight of particulate matter and organic carbon content in particles. This correlation might be due to the direct binding of mercury to organic matter through functional groups like thiols or to an indirect effect of oxyhydroxides that can adsorb mercury and are associated with organic matter. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:34:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cb39385ddd074327978e7f9a1624d118 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T14:34:22Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cb39385ddd074327978e7f9a1624d1182023-11-20T22:22:48ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-11-011023840710.3390/app10238407Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia)Fabiola Guzmán-Uria0Isabel Morales-Belpaire1Dario Achá2Marc Pouilly3Unidad de Calidad Ambiental (UCA), Instituto de Ecología, Campus Universitario de Cota Cota, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, BoliviaInstituto de Biología Molecular y Biotecnología, Campus Universitario de Cota Cota, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, BoliviaUnidad de Calidad Ambiental (UCA), Instituto de Ecología, Campus Universitario de Cota Cota, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, La Paz, BoliviaIRD–Laboratoire BOREA (MNHN, CNRS, IRD, Universités Paris Sorbonne, Caen et Antilles), 61 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, FranceIn rivers and other freshwater bodies, the presence of mercury can be due to direct contamination by anthropic activities such as gold mining. However, it can also be attributed to atmospheric deposition and erosion, runoff, or lixiviation from surrounding soils. In the case of the Amazon rainforest, high mercury contents have been reported for litter and topsoil, which could affect the mercury concentrations in water bodies. Samples of suspended particulate matter were obtained from a transect of the Itenez River, associated lakes, and some of its tributaries. The aim was to obtain information on particulate mercury’s origin in the study area and determine the relationship between particulate mercury and particulate organic carbon. The concentration of mercury, organic matter, and the C:N ratio of the suspended matter was determined. The concentration of particulate mercury by water volume depended on changes in suspended matter loads, which in turn were mostly affected by the nature of the watershed or sediment resuspension. The observed values for the percentage of organic matter and the C:N ratio suggest that most of the mercury content in rivers and lakes originated from soils. A positive correlation was found between mercury concentration by weight of particulate matter and organic carbon content in particles. This correlation might be due to the direct binding of mercury to organic matter through functional groups like thiols or to an indirect effect of oxyhydroxides that can adsorb mercury and are associated with organic matter.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/23/8407particulate mercurysuspended particulate matterparticulate organic carbonAmazon rainforest |
| spellingShingle | Fabiola Guzmán-Uria Isabel Morales-Belpaire Dario Achá Marc Pouilly Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia) Applied Sciences particulate mercury suspended particulate matter particulate organic carbon Amazon rainforest |
| title | Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia) |
| title_full | Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia) |
| title_fullStr | Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia) |
| title_short | Particulate Mercury and Particulate Organic Matter in the Itenez Basin (Bolivia) |
| title_sort | particulate mercury and particulate organic matter in the itenez basin bolivia |
| topic | particulate mercury suspended particulate matter particulate organic carbon Amazon rainforest |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/23/8407 |
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