Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Mercury distribution in sediment along urban–rural gradient around Shanghai (China): implication for pollution history

  • Developments and Applications of Environmental Specimen Banks for Monitoring Emerging Contaminants
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The increasing levels of heavy metals in the environment generally related with the rapid industrialization and urbanization. Mercury (Hg) is a global toxin with wide concerns, and China gradually becomes the main producer, consumer, and emitter of Hg in the world. However, few historical data are available on the occurrence of Hg in Chinese urban areas. Here, we collected 35 lake surface sediment samples from 35 public parks and 1 sediment core in the Luxun Park in Shanghai, a hyper-urbanization city in China, to determine the spatial and vertical distributions of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) and to explore the Hg pollution history with the industrial development. Higher concentrations of Hg and MeHg and greater Hg enrichment were found in urban areas compared with suburban area with the following order: central urban core area > developed urban area > developing urban area > suburban area. The THg concentration in the sediment core showed an increasing trend from 1876 to 2000 and a decreasing trend from 2000 to 2012, coinciding with the process of industrialization and urbanization in Shanghai. However, THg fluxes unceasingly increased from 1876 to present probably attributed to coal consumption in the suburban area and transportation agglomeration in the central urban core area. Unlike THg, no significant variations for MeHg with time and the maximum value (0.17 μg/kg) appeared in 1947. The methylation ratio of MeHg to THg in the sediment is pretty low, and more studies are needed to further understand the fate of Hg in the environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Appleby PG (2001) Chronostratigraphic techniques in recent sediments. In: Last WM, Smol JP (eds) Tracking environmental change using lake sediments. Volume 1: Basin analysis, coring, and chronological techniques. Kluwer, Dordrecht, pp 171–203

    Google Scholar 

  • Benoit J, Gilmour CC, Heyes A, Mason R, Miller C (2003) Geochemical and biological controls over methylmercury production and degradation in aquatic ecosystems, ACS symposium series. ACS Publications: 262–297

  • Bravo AG, Bouchet S, Amouroux D, Poté J, Dominik J (2011) Distribution of mercury and organic matter in particle-size classes in sediments contaminated by a waste water treatment plant: Vidy Bay, Lake Geneva, Switzerland. J Environ Monit 13:974–982

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chasar LC, Scudder BC, Stewart AR, Bell AH, Aiken GR (2009) Mercury cycling in stream ecosystems. 3. Trophic dynamics and methylmercury bioaccumulation. Environ Sci Technol 43:2733–2739

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ci Z, Zhang X, Wang Z (2012) Enhancing atmospheric mercury research in China to improve the current understanding of the global mercury cycle: the need for urgent and closely coordinated efforts. Environ Sci Technol 46:5636–5642

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Drevnick PE, Engstrom DR, Driscoll CT, Swain EB, Balogh SJ, Kamman NC, Long DT, Muir DG, Parsons MJ, Rolfhus KR (2012) Spatial and temporal patterns of mercury accumulation in lacustrine sediments across the Laurentian Great Lakes region. Environ Pollut 161:252–260

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Driscoll CT, Mason RP, Chan HM, Jacob DJ, Pirrone N (2013) Mercury as a global pollutant: sources, pathways, and effects. Environ Sci Technol 47:4967–4983

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ethier A, Scheuhammer A, Blais J, Paterson A, Mierle G, Ingram R, Lean D (2010) Mercury empirical relationships in sediments from three Ontario lakes. Sci Total Environ 408:2087–2095

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • He T, Feng X (2012) Biogeochemical cycling of mercury in Hongfeng Reservoir, Guizhou, China, tropical and sub-tropical reservoir limnology in China. Trop Sub-Trop Reserv Limnol China 91:169–191

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • He T, Lu J, Yang F, Feng X (2007) Horizontal and vertical variability of mercury species in pore water and sediments in small lakes in Ontario. Sci Total Environ 386:53–64

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hines NA, Brezonik PL, Engstrom DR (2004) Sediment and porewater profiles and fluxes of mercury and methylmercury in a small seepage lake in northern Minnesota. Environ Sci Technol 38:6610–6617

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Holmes P, James K, Levy L (2009) Is low-level environmental mercury exposure of concern to human health? Sci Total Environ 408:171–182

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang S, Liu X, Chen Q (2011) Distribution of total mercury and methylmercury in lake sediments in Arctic Ny-Ålesund. Chemosphere 83:1108–1116

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jin Y, Wang X, Lu J, Zhang C, Duan Q (2008) Effects of modern and ancient human activities on mercury in the environment in Xi’an area, Shannxi Province, PR China. Environ Pollut 153:342–350

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kainz M, Lucotte M (2006) Mercury concentrations in lake sediments–revisiting the predictive power of catchment morphometry and organic matter composition. Water Air Soil Pollut 170:173–189

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lambertsson L, Nilsson M (2006) Organic material: the primary control on mercury methylation and ambient methyl mercury concentrations in estuarine sediments. Environ Sci Technol 40:1822–1829

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Landis MS, Keeler GJ (2002) Atmospheric mercury deposition to Lake Michigan during the Lake Michigan mass balance study. Environ Sci Technol 36:4518–4524

  • Li HB, Yu S, Li GL, Deng H, Xu B, Ding J, Gao JB, Hong YW, Wong MH (2013) Spatial distribution and historical records of mercury sedimentation in urban lakes under urbanization impacts. Sci Total Environ 445:117–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang L, Horvat M, Feng X, Shang L, Li H, Pang P (2004) Re-evaluation of distillation and comparison with HNO3 leaching/solvent extraction for isolation of methylmercury compounds from sediment/soil samples. Appl Organomet Chem 18:264–270

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindberg S, Bullock R, Ebinghaus R, Engstrom D, Feng X, Fitzgerald W, Pirrone N, Prestbo E, Seigneur C (2007) A synthesis of progress and uncertainties in attributing the sources of mercury in deposition. Ambio 36:19–33

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W, Li X, Shen Z, Wang D, Wai O, Li Y (2003) Multivariate statistical study of heavy metal enrichment in sediments of the Pearl River Estuary. Environ Pollut 121:377–388

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu EF, Xue B, Yang XD, Wu YH, Xia WL (2009) 137Cs and 210 Pb chronology for modern lake sediment: a case study of Chaohu Lake and Taibai Lake. Mar Geol Quat Geol 29:89–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Keeler GJ, Timothy Dvonch J, Barres JA, Lynam MM, Marsik FJ, Morgan JT (2010) Urban–rural differences in atmospheric mercury speciation. Atmos Environ 44:2013–2023

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Feng X, Yin R, Zhu W, Li Z (2011) Mercury distributions and mercury isotope signatures in sediments of Dongjiang, the Pearl River Delta, China. Chem Geol 287:81–89

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marvin-DiPasquale M, Lutz MA, Brigham ME, Krabbenhoft DP, Aiken GR, Orem WH, Hall BD (2009) Mercury cycling in stream ecosystems. 2. Benthic methylmercury production and bed sediment–pore water partitioning. Environ Sci Technol 43:2726–2732

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mills RB, Paterson AM, Blais JM, Lean DR, Smol JP, Mierle G (2009) Factors influencing the achievement of steady state in mercury contamination among lakes and catchments of south-central Ontario. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 66:187–200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Miskimmin BM, Rudd JW, Kelly CA (1992) Influence of dissolved organic carbon, pH, and microbial respiration rates on mercury methylation and demethylation in lake water. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 49:17–22

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Muir D, Wang X, Yang F, Nguyen N, Jackson T, Evans M, Douglas M, Kock G, Lamoureux S, Pienitz R (2009) Spatial trends and historical deposition of mercury in eastern and northern Canada inferred from lake sediment cores. Environ Sci Technol 43:4802–4809

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Oh S, Kim MK, Yi SM, Zoh KD (2010) Distributions of total mercury and methylmercury in surface sediments and fishes in Lake Shihwa, Korea. Sci Total Environ 408:1059–1068

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pirrone N, Cinnirella S, Feng X, Finkelman R, Friedli H, Leaner J, Mason R, Mukherjee A, Stracher G, Streets D (2010) Global mercury emissions to the atmosphere from anthropogenic and natural sources. Atmos Chem Phys 10:5951–5964

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schiff K, Weisberg SB (1999) Iron as a reference element for determining trace metal enrichment in southern California coastal shelf sediments. Mar Environ Res 48:161–176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schuster PF, Krabbenhoft DP, Naftz DL, Cecil LD, Olson ML, Dewild JF, Susong DD, Green JR, Abbott ML (2002) Atmospheric mercury deposition during the last 270 years: a glacial ice core record of natural and anthropogenic sources. Environ Sci Technol 36:2303–2310

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shanghai Statistical Bureau (2012) Shanghai Statistical Year Book, online edition. Available: http://www.stats-sh.gov.cn/tjnj/nj12.htm?d1=2012tjnj/C0201.htm

  • Shi JB, Ip C, Tang CW, Zhang G, Wu RS, Li XD (2007) Spatial and temporal variations of mercury in sediments from Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Mar Pollut Bull 54:480–485

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stern G, Sanei H, Roach P, Delaronde J, Outridge P (2009) Historical interrelated variations of mercury and aquatic organic matter in lake sediment cores from a subarctic lake in Yukon, Canada: further evidence toward the algal-mercury scavenging hypothesis. Environ Sci Technol 43:7684–7690

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Streets DG, Hao J, Wu Y, Jiang J, Chan M, Tian H, Feng X (2005) Anthropogenic mercury emissions in China. Atmos Environ 39:7789–7806

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Streets DG, Devane MK, Lu Z, Bond TC, Sunderland EM, Jacob DJ (2011) All-time releases of mercury to the atmosphere from human activities. Environ Sci Technol 45:10485–10491

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sutherland R (2000) Bed sediment-associated trace metals in an urban stream, Oahu, Hawaii. Environ Geol 39:611–627

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ullrich SM, Tanton TW, Abdrashitova SA (2001) Mercury in the aquatic environment: a review of factors affecting methylation. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 31:241–293

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • US EPA Method 1630 (2001) Methyl mercury in water by distillation, aqueous ethylation, purge and trap, and CVAFS. Draft January 2001 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Water, Office of Science and Technology Engineering and Analysis Division (4303), 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., Washington, DC 20460. 1–41

  • Van Metre PC (2012) Increased atmospheric deposition of mercury in reference lakes near major urban areas. Environ Pollut 162:209–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Wang Y, Luo H (1992) The soil environmental background values in Shanghai. China Environmental Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Yang H, Gong P, Zhao X, Wu G, Turner S, Yao T (2010) One century sedimentary records of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, mercury and trace elements in the Qinghai Lake, Tibetan Plateau. Environ Pollut 158:3065–3070

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Xing D, Jia Y, Li B, Wang K (2012a) The distribution of total mercury and methyl mercury in a shallow hypereutrophic lake (Lake Taihu) in two seasons. Appl Geochem 27:343–351

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Zhang M, Li B, Xing D, Wang X, Wei C, Jia Y (2012b) Comparison of mercury speciation and distribution in the water column and sediments between the algal type zone and the macrophytic type zone in a hypereutrophic lake (Dianchi Lake) in southwestern China. Sci Total Environ 417:204–213

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu Y, Wang S, Streets DG, Hao J, Chan M, Jiang J (2006) Trends in anthropogenic mercury emissions in China from 1995 to 2003. Environ Sci Technol 40:5312–5318

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yan H, Feng X, Shang L, Qiu G, Dai Q, Wang S, Hou Y (2008) The variations of mercury in sediment profiles from a historically mercury-contaminated reservoir, Guizhou Province, China. Sci Total Environ 407:497–506

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang J, Meng XZ, Duan YP, Liu LZ, Chen L, Cheng HF (2014) Spatial distributions and sources of heavy metals in sediment from public park in Shanghai, the Yangtze River Delta. Appl Geochem 44:54–60

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yu RQ, Flanders J, Mack EE, Turner R, Mirza MB, Barkay T (2012) Contribution of coexisting sulfate and iron reducing bacteria to methylmercury production in freshwater river sediments. Environ Sci Technol 46:2684–2691

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Wong M (2007) Environmental mercury contamination in China: sources and impacts. Environ Int 33:108–121

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang L, Ye X, Feng H, Jing Y, Ouyang T, Yu X, Liang R, Gao C, Chen W (2007) Heavy metal contamination in western Xiamen Bay sediments and its vicinity, China. Mar Pollut Bull 54:974–982

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang GY, Zheng XM, Zhou LM, Huang WD, Qian P, Wang YJ (2010) Atmospheric wet deposition of mercury and assessment of its effects on ecological hazard. Environ Chem 29:147–148

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang T, Kim B, Levard C, Reinsch B, Lowry GV, Deshusses MA, Hsu-Kim H (2012) Methylation of mercury by bacteria exposed to dissolved, nanoparticulate, and microparticulate mercuric sulfides. Environ Sci Technol 46:6950–6958

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors express their appreciation for the financial support by the Special Project of the Basic Research Foundation of Central University (No. 0400219151), the Program for New Century Excellent Talents in University (No. NCET-12-0417), and the Collaborative Innovation Center for Regional Environmental Quality.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resources Reuse, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Jing Yang, Ling Chen, Wei-Ling Shi, Li-Zao Liu, Yue Li & Xiang-Zhou Meng

Authors
  1. Jing Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ling Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wei-Ling Shi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Li-Zao Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yue Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xiang-Zhou Meng
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiang-Zhou Meng.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Electronic supplementary material

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

ESM 1

(DOCX 342 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Yang, J., Chen, L., Shi, WL. et al. Mercury distribution in sediment along urban–rural gradient around Shanghai (China): implication for pollution history. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22, 1697–1704 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3611-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3611-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation