Abstract
The Hg accumulation in sedimentary environments of a mangrove ecosystem in Sepetiba Bay, SE Brazil, was investigated. These environments include sediments of a mangrove forest, the main tidal creek that drains the forest, and the bare seaward-edge mud flat adjacent to forest and tidal creek. Maximum Hg concentration peaks in sediments from the mud flat (184 ng g-1), tidal creek (98 ng g-1), and mangrove forest (60 ng g-1) correspond to enrichment factors of 6.1, 3.3, and 2.0 above the estimated average background level, respectively. Average inventories of Hg excess (background-corrected) concentrations were substantiallydifferent between environments, decreasing from mud flat sediments (5.2 mg m-2) to creek sediments (3.3 mg m-2)to mangrove forest sediments (0.9 mg m-2). Mercury concentration profiles indicated a consistently higher accumulation of Hg in surface layers of mud flat and tidal creeksediments, whereas mangrove forest sediments showed a higher Hgaccumulation in root-rich subsurface layers, in agreement with an enrichment of Fe and organic matter contents. While Hg distribution in mud flat and tidal creek sediments appears to belargely affected by contamination, its distribution in mangrove forest substrate appears to be greatly affected by root-sedimentinteractions. Mercury levels in the study site were comparable tothose observed in coastal sediments under moderate Hg contamination at local and regional scales. Results indicate thatsedimentary environments surrounding the mangrove forest retain most of the anthropogenic Hg reaching the ecosystem. Since tidal waters have been previously demonstrated as the main source of metals to the site, it is suggested that the Hg retention in mudflat sediments precede and may avoid a higher Hg accumulation inlandward environments.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Badarudeen, A., Damodaran, K. T., Sajan, K. and Padmalal, D.: 1996, ‘Texture and geochemistry of the sediments of a tropical mangrove ecosystem, southwest coast of India’ Environ. Geol. 27, 164-169.
Bloom, N. S., Gill, G. A., Capellino, S., Dobbs, C., McShea, L., Driscoll, C., Mason, R. and Rudd, J.: 1999, ‘Speciation and cycling of mercury in Lavaca Bay, Texas, sediments’ Environ. Sci. Technol. 33, 7-13.
Carvalho, C. E. V., Lacerda, L. D. and Gomes, M. P.: 1991, ‘Heavy metal contamination of the marine biota along the Rio de Janeiro Coast, SE Brazil’ Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 57/58, 645-653.
Clark, M. W., McConchie, D. M., Lewis, D. W. and Saenger, P.: 1998, ‘Redox stratification and heavy metal partitioning in Avicennia-dominated mangrove sediments: A geochemical model’ Chem. Geol. 149, 147-171.
Cundy, A. D. and Croudace, I. W.: 1995, ‘Sedimentary and geochemical evaluations in a salt marsh/mud flat environment from the mesotidal Humble estuary, southern England’ Mar. Chem. 51, 115-132.
Da Silva, M. R., Lamotte, M., Donard, O. F. X., Soriano-Sierra, E. J. and Robert, M.: 1996, ‘Metal contamination in surface sediments of mangroves, lagoons and Southern Bay in Florianopolis Island’ Environ. Technol. 17, 1035-1046.
Fiszman, M., Pfeiffer, W. C. and Lacerda, L. D.: 1984, ‘Comparison of methods for analysis and geochemical partitioning of heavy metals in sediments from Sepetiba Bay, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’ Environ. Technol. Lett. 5, 567-575.
Frignani, M., Bellucci, L. G., Langone, L. and Muntau, H.: 1997, ‘Metal fluxes to the sediments of northern Venice lagoon’ Mar. Chem. 58, 275-292.
Gagnon, C., Pelletier, E. and Mucci, A.: 1997, ‘Behaviour of anthropogenic mercury in coastal marine sediments’ Mar. Chem. 59, 159-176.
Harbison, P.: 1986, ‘Mangrove muds-a sink and source for trace metals’ Mar. Pollut. Bull. 17, 273-276.
Kawagushi, T., Porter, D., Bushek, D. and Jones, B.: 1999, ‘Mercury in the American oyster Crassostrea virginica in South Carolina, U.S.A., and public health concerns’ Mar. Pollut. Bull. 38, 324-327.
Klekowski, E. J., Temple, S. A., Siung-Chang, A. M. and Kumarsingh, K.: 1999, ‘An association of mangrove mutation, scarlet ibis, and mercury contamination in Trinidad, West Indies’ Environ. Pollut. 105, 185-189.
Lacerda, L. D.: 1998, Biogeochemistry of Trace Metals and Diffuse Pollution in Mangrove Ecosystems, International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, 63 p.
Lacerda, L. D. and Gonçalves, G. O.: 2001, ‘Mercury distribution and speciation in waters of the coastal lagoons of Rio de Janeiro, SE Brazil’ Mar. Chem. 76, 47-58.
Lacerda, L. D., Martinelli, L. A., Rezende, C. A., Mozetto, A. A., Ovalle, A. R. C., Victoria, R. L., Silva, C. A. R. and Nogueira, F. B.: 1988, ‘The fate of trace metals in suspended matter in a mangrove creek during a tidal cycle’ Sci. Total Environ. 75, 169-180.
Lacerda, L. D., Rezende, C. E., Aragon, G. T. and Ovalle, A. R.: 1991, ‘Iron and chromium transport and accumulation in a mangrove ecosystem’ Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 57/58, 513-520.
Lacerda, L. D., Carvalho, C. E. V., Rezende, C. E. and Pfeiffer, W. C.: 1993a, ‘Mercury in sediments from the Paraíba do Sul River continental shelf, SE Brazil’ Mar. Pollut. Bull. 26, 220-222.
Lacerda, L. D., Carvalho, C. E. V., Tanizaki, K. F., Ovalle, A. R. and Rezende, C. E.: 1993b, ‘The biogeochemistry and trace metals distribution of mangrove rhizospheres’ Biotropica 25, 252-257.
Lindberg, S. E. and Harriss, R. C.: 1974, ‘Mercury-organic matter associations in estuarine sediments and interstitial water’ Environ. Sci. Techol. 21, 297-305.
Machado, W., Moscatelli, M., Rezende, L. G. and Lacerda, L. D.: ‘Mercury, zinc, and copper accumulation in mangrove sediments surrounding a large landfill in southeast Brazil’ Environ. Pollut. (in press).
Mackey, A. P. and Hodgkinson, M.: 1995, ‘The concentrations and spatial distribution of trace metals in mangrove sediments from the Brisbane River, Australia’ Environ. Pollut. 90, 181-186.
Marins, R. V., Lacerda, L. D., Gonçalves, G. O. and Paiva, E. C.: 1997, ‘Effect of root metabolism on the post-depositional mobilization of mercury in salt marsh soils’ Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 58, 733-738.
Marins, R. V., Lacerda, L. D., Paraquetti, H. H. M., Paiva, E. C. and Villas Boas, R. C.: 1998, ‘Geochemistry of mercury in sediments of a sub-tropical coastal lagoon, Sepetiba Bay, Southeastern Brazil’ Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 61, 57-64.
Meyer, U., Hagen, W. and Medeiros, C.: 1998, ‘Mercury in a northeastern Brazilian mangrove area, a case study: Potential of the mangrove oyster Crassostrea rhizophorae as bioindicator for mercury’ Mar. Biol. 131, 113-121.
Morrisey, D. J., Williamson, R. B., Van Dam, L. and Lee, D. J.: 2000, ‘Storm water contamination of urban estuaries. 2. Testing a predictive model of the build-up of heavy metals in sediments’ Estuaries 23, 67-79.
Mucci, A. and Edenborn, H. M.: 1992, ‘Influence of a organic-poor landslide deposit on the early diagenesis of iron and manganese in a coastal marine sediment’ Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 56, 3909-3921.
Perdomo, L., Ensminger, I., Espinosa, L. F., Elster, C., Wallner-Kersanach, M. and Schnetter, M. L.: 1998, ‘The mangrove ecosystem of the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (Colombia): Observations on regeneration and trace metals in sediment’ Mar. Pollut. Bull. 37, 393-403.
Peters, E. C., Gassman, N. J., Firman, J. C., Richmond, R. H. and Power, E. A.: 1997, ‘Ecotoxicology of tropical marine ecosystems’ Environm. Toxicol. Chem. 16, 12-40.
Quevauviller, P., Donard, O. F. X., Wasserman, J. C., Martin, F. M. and Schneider, J.: 1992, ‘Occurrence of methylated tin and dimethyl mercury compounds in a mangrove core from Sepetiba Bay, Brazil’ App. Organ. Chem. 6, 221-228.
Ragsdale, H. L. and Thorhaug, A.: 1980, ‘Trace metal cycling in the U.S. coastal zone: A synthesis’Am. J. Bot. 67, 1102-1112.
Sadiq, M. and Zaidi, T. H.: 1994, ‘Sediment composition and metal concentrations in mangrove leaves from the Saudi coast of the Arabian Gulf’ Sci. Total Environ. 155, 1-8.
Salomons, W. and Förstner, U.: 1984, Metals in the Hydrocycle, Springer, New York, 349 p.
Silva, C. A. R., Lacerda, L. D. and Rezende, C. E.: 1990, ‘Metals reservoir in a red mangrove forest’ Biotropica 22, 339-345.
Tam, N. F. Y. and Wong, Y. S.: 1995, ‘Spatial and temporal variations of heavy metal contamination in sediments of a mangrove swamp in Hong Kong’ Mar. Pollut. Bull. 31, 254-261.
Wasserman, J. C., Freitas-Pinto, A. A. P. and Amouroux, D.: 2000, ‘Mercury concentrations in sediment profiles of a degraded tropical coastal environment’ Environ. Technol. 21, 297-305.
Wasserman, J. C., Amouroux, D., Wasserman, M. A. V. and Donard, O. F. X.: ‘Mercury speciation in sediments of a tropical coastal environment’ Environ. Technol. (in press).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Silva, L.F.F., Machado, W., Lisboa Filho, S.D. et al. Mercury Accumulation in Sediments of a Mangrove Ecosystem in SE Brazil. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 145, 67–77 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023610623280
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023610623280