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Heavy Metal Index

Glacier Melt as a Source of Mercury: Implications for Ecosystem

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Page snapshot
Cited by5 pages
Metals measured3
Evidence tierB
Year2026

Overview

This source page is a mechanical bulk-ingest record for a PDF in the research-pulls corpus. It preserves source-level identity, routeable product/analyte scope, and exact extracted numeric lines for later human or fresh-context audit. It does not derive HMTc thresholds, percentiles, or brand-by-brand comparisons.

Key numbers

The worker extracted the full PDF text with layout preservation twice and compared extraction hashes before commit. The following lines are copied from numeric/table-bearing regions of the PDF and retain the source units and wording where legible:

  • little attention has been given to Hg secondary emissions from approximately 0.047 km2 (Table S5). It is surrounded by landscape
  • were measured by gamma-ray spectrometry on a SAGe well detector organic matter (OM, %) and carbonate (CaCO3, %) content were
  • 0.75 mA for heavier elements (Cu, Zn, Br, Sr, Rb, Zr, and Pb). Each geometric mean of the selected elements at that depth. The geometric
  • spectrum was individually deconvoluted to derive relative elemental mean was calculated from 12 elements: Al, Si, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Zn,
  • infrared range (4000−400 cm−1) at 0.5 cm−1 resolution, averaging 60 of linear regressions between the Hg accumulation rates and
  • samples as observations. This unbiased approach avoids preselecting ship, with a mean sediment accumulation rate (SAR) of 1.68
  • of the certified reference material ERM-CC141 (soil) (n = 37). 2a,b) follow trends similar to accumulation rates (Hg AR),
  • mean ± SD obtained from replicate sample analysis and the number matter (OM) content in GDL sediments (10−12% LOI550)
  • Supporting Information (Hg analysis section). sediments (2−3%). When Hg concentrations are normalized
  • uncertainty in the accumulation rate was determined by propagating stable in sediments.38,56,57 In the case of GDL, no significant
  • The Hg accumulation profile at GDL shows a notable peak preventing higher-resolution sampling (see also Figure S4).
  • estimates by Zang et al.,62 who reported a 1−2% annual 1970 (Figure S4), meaning that simple dilution would produce
  • similar trend to that for GDL prior to the 1970s, with the gradually increases from 0.21% in 1910 to 0.41% in 2023,
  • remained stable from 1950 to 2023 and were significantly this hypothesis quantitatively, we applied a simple mass-
  • higher than lake watershed OM δ13Corg(−28.2 ± 0.4‰, n = 4, balance approach to estimate the Hg contribution from a
  • 28.5 ± 22.9 ng g−1 (n = 4), near geochemical background tributions. Subtracting the GDL profile from the EYC profile
  • transported to the lake.73,74 The comobilization of Fe and Hg translates to 36−180 g of dissolved Hg, representing 8−43% of
  • mercury from glacier melting could explain 70% of the Hg we and ecological risk. Integrating Hg speciation, DOM dynamics,
  • accumulation in the Alps; likewise, the adopted 6% cryoconite nants. Systems like Grand Lake respond rapidly to
  • been approximately 50% higher than that in the reference lake, Reduction of greenhouse gases slows down global warming
  • that changes in dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition tary tables (S1−S7); supplementary figures (S1−S13);
  • (8) Médieu, A.; et al. Stable Tuna Mercury Concentrations since
  • Aymeric Lagrange for their assistance with core sampling, the (14) Hawkings, J. R.; et al. Large subglacial source of mercury from
  • Stable Isotopes Reveal the Contribution of Glacier Melting to (37) Bourgin, A. Explorations récentes en haute montagne alpestre.
  • by Stable Isotopes during Retreated Glacier Chronosequence of 250 (39) Sabatier, P.; et al. Past African dust inputs in the western
  • range scale: the European Alps 1900−2100. Cryosphere 2012, 6, 713− and total solar irradiance. Clim. Past 2020, 16, 283−298.
  • stable isotopic compositions to isotope reference scales − a review. Effect. Global Biogeochem. Cycles 1999, 13, 857−872.

Methods (brief)

  • framework were analyzed for Hg concentrations along with Sediment cores were collected in July 2023 using a 90 mm diameter
  • volume of wet sediment and then weighing each sample before and Sediment accumulation rates (SAR) were estimated using the
  • dry sample by the initial sample volume. To reduce variability as tracers of atmospheric nuclear weapons testing and fallout,
  • low-background facility.44 The EYC23 core was sampled for these following the method of Heiri et al.48 Briefly, ca. 800 mg of sediment
  • been dated based on material collected in 2022. Its chronology was sediments by measuring mass loss at high temperatures in a muffle
  • established and correlated to that of GDL23-01 using XRF data, as furnace. Samples were heated at 550 °C for 4 h to estimate organic
  • Sediment samples were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared approximately 1 cm for EYC. To align these data sets, the CLR
  • scans per sample. The instrument was cleaned between runs, and a geochemical proxies.
  • new background spectrum was recorded for every five samples.
  • samples as observations. This unbiased approach avoids preselecting ship, with a mean sediment accumulation rate (SAR) of 1.68
  • sediment sample. Meanwhile, loadings reflect how much of the MIR event deposits.45 When these deposits are removed, the CFCS
  • spectral signal of each sample is accounted for by that each principal model estimates a SAR of 3.03 mm yr−1, reflecting higher input
  • spectrum in each sample).52 the sedimentation processes in EYC23 (marked by temporal
  • sediment samples were decarbonated by mild acid treatment, dried, normally graded event deposits are dated to 1970 and 1980.
  • sample preparation (including decarbonation) are detailed else-
  • THg concentrations were measured using a Direct Mercury Analyzer
  • (DMA-80, Milestone, Italy), following the protocol described by
  • All samples were analyzed in triplicate to assess the measurement concentrations are higher in GDL (191.2 ± 47.2 ng g−1) than

Implications

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Update history

The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.

CommitDateChangeDescription
b01ec52c2026-08-04major2 sections added
d49e450f2026-08-03major5 sections added; narrative text revised