FATE OF MERCURY IN THE ARCTIC Michael Evan ... - COGCI

Fate of Mercury in the Arctic 87
Total Hg ng/g (freeze dried weight)
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
Nordvestø Carey Islands, Greenland
M.Goodsite/N. Rausch
4520 BP 5065 BP 5414 BP 5940 BP
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200 210
Depth (cm)
6205 BP
Figure 21. Preliminary results for mercury for Nordvestø, Carey Islands, Greenland. The permafrost starts
at 8 cm. Peat was sampled using a new rotary corer developed for frozen peat (Noernberg et
al., 2003, Appendix C) Prelimary dating results show that the peat had a very linear
accumulation, and that core represents approximately 1700 years of peat accumulation from
the mid Holocene, with a 1 cm slice representing approximately 10 years of peat
accumulation. Unpublished data.
The mercury concentrations found in the peat profile from Nordvestø, Carey Islands, NW
Greenland are shown in Figure 21., page 87. The study of peat from the Carey Islands is still
ongoing at the time of completion of this Ph.D. The active layer extends to the depth of 8 cm. The
core is just over 2 meters long and preliminary dates show that the core covers the mid-Holocene.
The peat formed from moss that grew on bird droppings from seabirds that sat on the cliff, as
evidenced by feathers found in each centimetre layer. The feathers have been sent to the Danish
National Zoological Museum for species determination. There are very distinct discrete peaks in the
core, for example between 120 and 130 cm deep. The concentration trend seems to be rising. The