Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The distribution and accumulation of mercury and methylmercury in surface sediments beneath the East China Sea

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Environmental Science and Pollution Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

China is a massive mercury emitter, responsible for a quarter of the world’s mercury emissions, which transit the atmosphere and accumulate throughout its watercourses. The Changjiang (Yangtze) River is the third largest river in the world, integrating mercury emissions over its 1.8 × 106 km2 catchment and channelling them to the East China Sea where they can be buried. Despite its potential global significance, the importance of the East China Sea as a terminal mercury sink remains poorly known. To address this knowledge gap, total mercury and methylmercury concentrations were determined from 51 surface sediment samples revealing their spatial distribution, whilst demonstrating the overall pollution status of the East China Sea. Sedimentary mercury distributions beneath the East China Sea are spatially heterogeneous, with high mercury concentrations (> 25 ng g−1) corresponding to areas of fine-grained sediment accumulation. In contrast, some sites of fine-grained sediment deposition have significantly lower values of methylmercury (< 15 ng g−1), such as the Changjiang estuary and some isolated offshore areas. Fine-grained particles and organic matter availability appear to exert the dominant control over sedimentary mercury distribution in the East China Sea, whereas in situ methylation serves as an additional control governing methylmercury accumulation. Estimated annual sedimentary fluxes of mercury in the East China Sea are 51 × 106 g, which accounts for 9% of China’s annual mercury emissions.

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
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Apeti DA, Lauenstein GG, Evans DW (2012) Recent status of total mercury and methyl mercury in the coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico using oysters and sediments from NOAA's mussel watch program. Mar Pollut Bull 64:2399–2408

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ayotte P, Dewailly E, Bruneau S, Careau H, Vézina A (1995) Arctic air pollution and human health: what effects should be expected? Sci Total Environ 160-161:529–537

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Balogh SJ, Nollet YH, Offerman HJ (2005) A comparison of total mercury and methylmercury export from various Minnesota watersheds. Sci Total Environ 340:261–270

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Beldowski J, Miotk M, Zaborska A, Pempkowiak J (2015) Distribution of sedimentary mercury off Svalbard, European Arctic. Chemosphere 122:190–198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boening DW (2000) Ecological effects, transport, and fate of mercury: a general review. Chemosphere 40:1335–1351

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bravo AG, Bouchet S, Tolu J, Björn E, Mateos-Rivera A, Bertilsson S (2017) Molecular composition of organic matter controls methylmercury formation in boreal lakes. Nat Commun 8:14255

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • China National Oceanic Administration (CNOA) (2010) Bulletin of China’s Marine Environmental Status in the year of 2010. (In Chinese)

  • Conaway CH, Squire S, Mason RP, Flegal AR (2002) Mercury speciation in the San Francisco Bay estuary. Mar Chem 80:199–225

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Counter SA, Buchanan LH (2004) Mercury exposure in children: a review. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 198:209–230

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ding ZH, Liu CE, Tang QH, Wang WH, Zhuang M (2005) Environmental pollution in estuary of the Yangtze River and coastal water. Resour Environ Yangtze Basin 14:204–207

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dong A, Zhai S, Zabel M, Yu Z, Zhang H, Liu F (2012) Heavy metals in Changjiang estuarine and offshore sediments: responding to human activities. Acta Oceanol Sin 31:88–101

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Duan L, Cheng N, Xiu G, Wang F, Chen Y (2017) Characteristics and source appointment of atmospheric particulate mercury over East China Sea: implication on the deposition of atmospheric particulate mercury in marine environment. Environ Pollut 224:26–34

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang TH, Chen RY (2010) Mercury contamination and accumulation in sediments of the East China Sea. J Environ Sci 22:1164–1170

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fang TH, Li JY, Feng HM, Chen HY (2009) Distribution and contamination of trace metals in surface sediments of the East China Sea. Mar Environ Res 68:178–187

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Feng X, Qiu G (2008) Mercury pollution in Guizhou, southwestern China - an overview. Sci Total Environ 400:227–237

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gbor PK, Wen D, Meng F, Yang F, Sloan JJ (2007) Modeling of mercury emission, transport and deposition in North America. Atmos Environ 41:1135–1149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gill GA, Bloom NS, Cappellino S, Driscoll CT, And CD, Mcshea L, Mason R, Rudd JWM (1999) Sediment−water fluxes of mercury in Lavaca Bay, Texas. Environ Sci Technol 33:663–669

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gochfeld M, Burger J (2005) Good fish/bad fish: a composite benefit–risk by dose curve. Neurotoxicology 26:511–520

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guo L, Chen Y, Wang F, Meng X, Xu Z, Zhuang G (2014) Effects of Asian dust on the atmospheric input of trace elements to the East China Sea. Mar Chem 163:19–27

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hammerschmidt CR, Fitzgerald WF, Lamborg CH, Balcom PH, Tseng CM (2006) Biogeochemical cycling of methylmercury in lakes and tundra watersheds of Arctic Alaska. Environ Sci Technol 40:1204–1211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Haris H, Aris AZ, Mokhtar M (2017) Mercury and methylmercury distribution in the intertidal surface sediment of a heavily anthropogenically impacted saltwater-mangrove-sediment interplay zone. Chemosphere 166:323–333

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horvat M, Bloom NS, Liang L (1993) Comparison of distillation with other current isolation methods for the determination of methyl mercury compounds in low level environmental samples: part 1. Sediments. Anal Chim Acta 282:153–168

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hu L, Guo Z, Feng J, Yang Z, Fang M (2009) Distributions and sources of bulk organic matter and aliphatic hydrocarbons in surface sediments of the Bohai Sea, China. Mar Chem 113:197–211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Huang F, Wang X, Lou L, Zhou Z, Wu J (2010) Spatial variation and source apportionment of water pollution in Qiantang River (China) using statistical techniques. Water Res 44:1562–1572

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kannan K, Falandysz J (1998) Speciation and concentrations of mercury in certain coastal marine sediments. Water Air Soil Pollut 103:129–136

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kannan K, Smith RG Jr, Lee RF, Windom HL, Heitmuller PT, Macauley JM, Summers JK (1998) Distribution of total mercury and methyl mercury in water, sediment, and fish from south Florida estuaries. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 34:109–118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kao SJ, Lin FJ, Liu KK (2003) Organic carbon and nitrogen contents and their isotopic compositions in surficial sediments from the East China Sea shelf and the southern Okinawa Trough. Deep Sea Research Part II Topical Studies in Oceanography 50:1203–1217

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kim J, Lim D, Jung D, Kang J, Jung H, Woo H, Jeong K, Xu Z (2018) Sedimentary mercury (Hg) in the marginal seas adjacent to Chinese high-Hg emissions: source-to-sink, mass inventory, and accumulation history. Mar Pollut Bull 128:428–437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King JK, Harmon SM, Fu TT, Gladden JB (2002) Mercury removal, methylmercury formation, and sulfate-reducing bacteria profiles in wetland mesocosms. Chemosphere 46:859–870

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • King JK, Kostka JE, Frischer ME, Saunders FM (2000) Sulfate-reducing bacteria methylate mercury at variable rates in pure culture and in marine sediments. Appl Environ Microbiol 66:2430–2437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk JL, Lehnherr I, Andersson M, Braune BM, Chan L, Dastoor AP, Durnford D, Gleason AL, Loseto LL, Steffen A (2012) Mercury in Arctic marine ecosystems: sources, pathways and exposure. Environ Res 119:64–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kongchum M, Devai I, Delaune RD, Jugsujinda A (2006) Total mercury and methylmercury in freshwater and salt marsh soils of the Mississippi river deltaic plain. Chemosphere 63:1300–1303

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Laurier FJG, Cossa D, Gonzalez JL, Breviere E, Sarazin G (2003) Mercury transformations and exchanges in a high turbidity estuary: the role of organic matter and amorphous oxyhydroxides. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 67:3329–3345

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lawson NM, Mason RP, Laporte JM (2001) The fate and transport of mercury, methylmercury, and other trace metals in Chesapeake Bay tributaries. Water Res 35:501–515

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Liang Y, Dongxing Y, Min L, Zhenbin G, Xiyao L, Zhang Z (2009) Distribution characteristics of total mercury and methylmercury in the topsoil and dust of Xiamen, China. J Environ Sci 21:1400–1408

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lindqvist O, Johansson K, Bringmark L, Timm B, Aastrup M, Andersson A, Hovsenius G, Hkanson L, Iverfeldt k MM (1991) Mercury in the Swedish environment ? Recent research on causes, consequences and corrective methods. Water Air Soil Pollut 55:xi–261

    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 

  • Liu JP, Li AC, Xu KH, Velozzi DM, Yang ZS, Milliman JD, Demaster DJ (2006) Sedimentary features of the Yangtze River-derived along-shelf clinoform deposit in the East China Sea. Cont Shelf Res 26:2141–2156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu JP, Xu KH, Li AC, Milliman JD, Velozzi DM, Xiao SB, Yang ZS (2007) Flux and fate of Yangtze River sediment delivered to the East China Sea. Geomorphology 85:208–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu W, Hu L, Lin T, Li Y, Guo Z (2017) Distribution and mass inventory of mercury in sediment from the Yangtze River estuarine-inner shelf of the East China Sea. Cont Shelf Res 132:29–37

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Looi LJ, Aris AZ, Yusoff FM, Hashim Z (2015) Mercury contamination in the estuaries and coastal sediments of the Strait of Malacca. Environ Monit Assess 187:1–15

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Louchouarn P, Kuo LJ, Brandenberger JM, Marcantonio F, Garland C, Gill GA, Cullinan V (2012) Pyrogenic inputs of anthropogenic Pb and Hg to sediments of the Hood Canal, Washington, in the 20th century: source evidence from stable Pb isotopes and PAH signatures. Environ Sci Technol 46:5772–5781

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Louchouarn P, Lucotte M (1998) A historical reconstruction of organic and inorganic contamination events in the Saguenay Fjord/St. Lawrence system from preindustrial times to the present. Sci Total Environ 213:139–150

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Marvin-DiPasquale MC, Oremland RS (1998) Bacterial methylmercury degradation in Florida Everglades peat sediment. Environ Sci Technol 32:2556–2563

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason R, Fitzgerald W, Morel F (1994) The biogeochemical cycling of elemental mercury: anthropogenic influences. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 58:3191–3198

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Kim EH, Cornwell J, Heyes D (2006) An examination of the factors influencing the flux of mercury, methylmercury and other constituents from estuarine sediment. Mar Chem 102:96–110

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Lawrence AL (1999) Concentration, distribution, and bioavailability of mercury and methylmercury in sediments of Baltimore Harbor and Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, USA. Environ Toxicol Chem 18:2438–2447

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Lawson NM, Lawrence AL, Leaner JJ, Lee JG, Sheu G-R (1999) Mercury in the Chesapeake Bay. Mar Chem 65:77–96

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mason RP, Sullivan KA (1998) Mercury and methylmercury transport through an urban watershed. Water Res 32:321–330

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mazrui NM, Jonsson S, Thota S, Zhao J, Mason RP (2016) Enhanced availability of mercury bound to dissolved organic matter for methylation in marine sediments. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 194:153–162

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Meng M, Shi J-b, Yun Z-j, Zhao Z-s, Li H-j, Gu Y-x, Shao J-j, Chen B-w, Li X-d, Jiang G-b (2014) Distribution of mercury in coastal marine sediments of China: sources and transport. Mar Pollut Bull 88:347–353

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Merritt KA, Amirbahman A (2009) Mercury methylation dynamics in estuarine and coastal marine environments—a critical review. Earth Sci Rev 96:54–66

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Milliman JD, Beardsley RC, Yang ZS, Limeburner R (1985a) Modern Huanghe-derived muds on the outer shelf of the East China Sea: identification and potential transport mechanisms. Cont Shelf Res 4:175–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milliman JD, Shen HT, Yang ZS, Mead RH (1985b) Transport and deposition of river sediment in the Changjiang estuary and adjacent continental shelf. Cont Shelf Res 4:37–45

    Article  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 

  • Pacyna EG, Pacyna JM, Pirrone N (2001) European emissions of atmospheric mercury from anthropogenic sources in 1995. Atmos Environ 35:2987–2996

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pacyna EG, Pacyna JM, Steenhuisen F, Wilson S (2006) Global anthropogenic mercury emission inventory for 2000. Atmos Environ 40:4048–4063

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pacyna EG, Pacyna JM, Sundseth K, Munthe J, Kindbom K, Wilson S, Steenhuisen F, Maxson P (2010) Global emission of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in 2005 and projections to 2020. Atmos Environ 44:2487–2499

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pan K, Wang WX (2012) Trace metal contamination in estuarine and coastal environments in China. Sci Total Environ 421-422:3–16

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parks JM, Johs A, Podar M, Bridou R, Hurt RA, Smith SD, Tomanicek SJ, Qian Y, Brown SD, Brandt CC (2013) The genetic basis for bacterial mercury methylation. Science 339:1332–1335

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Qiu G, Feng X, Wang S, Shang L (2005) Mercury and methylmercury in riparian soil, sediments, mine-waste calcines, and moss from abandoned Hg mines in east Guizhou province, southwestern China. Appl Geochem 20:627–638

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Reyes LH, Rahman GMM, Kingston HMS (2009) Robust microwave-assisted extraction protocol for determination of total mercury and methylmercury in fish tissues. Anal Chim Acta 631:121–128

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seigneur C, Vijayaraghavan K, Lohman K, Karamchandani P, Scott C (2004) Global source attribution for mercury deposition in the United States. Environ Sci Technol 38:555–569

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi JB, Ip CC, Zhang G, Jiang GB, Li XD (2010) Mercury profiles in sediments of the Pearl River estuary and the surrounding coastal area of South China. Environ Pollut 158:1974–1979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Shi JB, Liang LN, Yuan CG, He B, Jiang GB (2005) Methylmercury and total mercury in sediments collected from the East China Sea. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 74:980–987

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Spada L, Annicchiarico C, Cardellicchio N, Giandomenico S, Di LA (2012) Mercury and methylmercury concentrations in Mediterranean seafood and surface sediments, intake evaluation and risk for consumers. Int J Hyg Environ Health 215:418–426

    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 

  • Su CC, Huh CA (2002) 210Pb, 137Cs and 239,240Pu in East China Sea sediments: sources, pathways and budgets of sediments and radionuclides. Mar Geol 183:163–178

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Su S, Xiao R, Mi X, Xu X, Zhang Z, Wu J (2013) Spatial determinants of hazardous chemicals in surface water of Qiantang River, China. Ecol Indic 24:375–381

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun L, Lin S, Feng L, Huang S, Yuan D (2013) The distribution and sea–air transfer of volatile mercury in waste post-desulfurization seawater discharged from a coal-fired power plant. Environ Sci Pollut Res 20:6191–6200

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sunderland EM, Gobas FAPC, Branfireun BA, Heyes A (2006) Environmental controls on the speciation and distribution of mercury in coastal sediments. Mar Chem 102:111–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Taylor S (1964) Abundance of chemical elements in the continental crust: a new table. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 28:1273–1285

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2001a): Appendix to method 1631: total mercury in tissue, sludge, sediment, and soil by acid digestion and BrCl oxidation. Washington, D. C., EPA-821-R-01-013

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2001b): Method 1630: methyl mercury in water by distillation, aqueous ethylation, purge and trap, and CVAFS. Washington, D. C., EPA-821-R-01-020

  • United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2002) Method 1631, revision E: mercury in water by oxidation, purge and trap, and cold vapour atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Washington, D. C., EPA-821-R-02-019

  • Wang B, Xin M, Wei Q, Xie L (2018) A historical overview of coastal eutrophication in the China seas. Mar Pollut Bull 136:394–400

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Q, Liu R, Lu X, Li Z (2002) Progress of study on the mercury process in the wetland environment. Adv Earth Sci 17:881–885 (In Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang S, Jia Y, Wang S, Wang X, Wang H, Zhao Z, Liu B (2009) Total mercury and monomethylmercury in water, sediments, and hydrophytes from the rivers, estuary, and bay along the Bohai Sea coast, northeastern China. Appl Geochem 24:1702–1711

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wong CS, Duzgoren-Aydin NS, Aydin A, Wong MH (2006) Sources and trends of environmental mercury emissions in Asia. Sci Total Environ 368:649–662

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wu H, Ding Z, Liu Y, Liu J, Yan H, Pan J, Li L, Lin H, Lin G, Lu H (2011) Methylmercury and sulfate-reducing bacteria in mangrove sediments from Jiulong River Estuary, China. J Environ Sci 23:14–21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Xu K, Milliman JD, Li A, Liu JP, Kao SJ, Wan S (2009) Yangtze- and Taiwan-derived sediments on the inner shelf of East China Sea. Cont Shelf Res 29:2240–2256

    Article  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 S, Tang M, Yim WS, Zong Y, Huang G, Switzer AD, Saito Y (2011) Burial of organic carbon in Holocene sediments of the Zhujiang (Pearl River) and Changjiang (Yangtze River) estuaries. Mar Chem 123:1–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yang S, Yim WS, Tang M, Huang G (2008) Burial of organic carbon and carbonate on inner shelf of the northern South China Sea during the postglacial period. Front Earth Sci China 2:427–433

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Youn J, Kim TJ (2011) Geochemical composition and provenance of muddy shelf deposits in the East China Sea. Quat Int 230:3–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yuan H, Song J, Li X, Li N, Duan L (2012) Distribution and contamination of heavy metals in surface sediments of the South Yellow Sea. Mar Pollut Bull 64:2151–2159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhai SK, Meng W, Yu ZG (2008) The Yangtze Estuary marine environment after the Three Gorges Dam. Chinese Science Press, Beijing (In Chinese with English abstract)

    Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu C, Wang ZH, Xue B, Yu PS, Pan JM, Wagner T, Pancost RD (2011a) Characterizing the depositional settings for sedimentary organic matter distributions in the Lower Yangtze River-East China Sea Shelf System. Estuar Coast Shelf Sci 93:182–191

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu L, Xu J, Wang F, Lee B (2011b) An assessment of selected heavy metal contamination in the surface sediments from the South China Sea before 1998. J Geochem Explor 108:1–14

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This represents Seolfor Solutions contribution no. 1. We thank Dongxing Yuan and FangFang Lin for determining the various mercury abundances and Chao Li for analysing TOC and TN contents. We salute that initial work by Xingqian Cui and comments from Mark Marvin-DiPasquale. This manuscript was critiqued by two anonymous reviewers whose diligence undoubtedly improved the quality of this contribution.

Funding

Aiguo Dong received financial support from the Fundamental Research funds for the Central Universities (2652017048). Shikui Zhai received financial support from the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation (41076022) and the Laboratory of Marine Hydrocarbon Resources and Environmental Geology, Ministry of Land and Resource (MRE201004). Gareth Izon is supported by the Simons Collaboration on the Origins of Life.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China

    Aiguo Dong

  2. Key Lab of Submarine Geosciences and Prospecting Techniques, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, 266100, China

    Aiguo Dong, Shikui Zhai, Huaijing Zhang & Xiuli Jiang

  3. Department of Marine Sciences, Texas A&M University, Galveston, TX, 77554, USA

    Patrick Louchouarn

  4. Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA

    Gareth Izon

Authors
  1. Aiguo Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Shikui Zhai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Patrick Louchouarn
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gareth Izon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Huaijing Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Xiuli Jiang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aiguo Dong.

Additional information

Responsible editor: Severine Le Faucheur

Electronic supplementary material

Table S1

Geochemical data from surface sediments and basal waters obtained from the East China Sea. Data include total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) abundances, the ratio between methylmercury and total mercury (MeHg/THg), total organic carbon (TOC), sediment grain size (SGS) and total suspended sediment (TSS) load. Table S2: Principle component analysis conducted using IBM’s SPSS statistics package. The input parameters are total mercury and methylmercury concentrations, the ratio between methylmercury and total mercury, grain size, basal total suspended sediment concentrations and total organic carbon content. Table S3: Component matrix calculated using IBM’s SPSS statistics package. (XLSX 31 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Dong, A., Zhai, S., Louchouarn, P. et al. The distribution and accumulation of mercury and methylmercury in surface sediments beneath the East China Sea. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 4667–4679 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3880-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3880-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation