Coastal erosion as a source of mercury into the marine environment along the Polish Baltic shore

Urszula Kwasigroch,Leszek Łęczyński,Magdalena Bełdowska,Agnieszka Jędruch,Dominika Saniewska

doi:10.1007/s11356-016-6753-7

Urszula Kwasigroch, Leszek Łęczyński + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6753-7

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Abstract

The climate changes in recent years in the southern Baltic have been resulting in an increased frequency of natural extreme phenomena (i.e. storms, floods) and intensification of abrasion processes, which leads to introduction of large amounts of sedimentary deposits into the marine environment. The aim of this study was to determine the mercury load introduced to the Baltic Sea with deposits crumbling off the cliffs—parts of the coast that are the most exposed to abrasion. The studies were carried out close to five cliffs located on the Polish coast in the years 2011–2014. The results show that coastal erosion could be an important Hg source into the marine environment. This process is the third most important route, after riverine and precipitation input, by which Hg may enter the Gulf of Gdańsk. In the Hg budget in the gulf, the load caused by erosion (14.3 kg a−1) accounted for 80 % of the wet deposition and was 50 % higher than the amount of mercury introduced with dry deposition. Although the Hg concentration in the cliff deposits was similar to the natural background, due to their large mass, this problem could be significant. In addition, the preliminary studies on the impact of coastal erosion on the Hg level in the marine ecosystem have shown that this process may be one of the Hg sources into the trophic chain.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11356-016-6753-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Highlights

Mercury (Hg) is one of the most dangerous global pollutants
The study material collected between 2011 and 2014 near the colluvium of the Orłowo, Mechelinki, Osłonino, Chłapowo and Jastrzębia Góra cliffs consisted of 542 samples of clastic material and 81 samples of plant material
The research material consisted of samples that varied lithologically—the following deposits types were identified: post-glacial boulder clay and fluvioglacial sands, as well as organogenic sediments—peat and soil

Summary

Introduction

The adverse impact of Hg on the environment is related to its strong chemical and biological activity, as a result of which it is absorbed by organisms and spreads in the environment very rapidly. The Hg compounds become accumulated in tissues and can undergo biomagnification in organisms on higher trophic levels, reaching concentrations many times higher than in the environment itself (Förstner and Wittman 1981). Hg is a neurotoxin that leads to impairments in the human nervous system—autism and learning difficulties in children. In adults, it is associated with the Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, as well as depression. Hg penetrates through the uterus barrier, resulting in miscarriages and embryo impairments. Owing to the fact that the main route of Hg introduction into the human body is the consumption of fish and seafood, investigating and determining the sources of this compound in the marine ecosystem are of great importance (Bose-O’Reilly et al 2010)

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