Mercury distribution and exchanges between the Amazon River and connected floodplain lakes

Abstract

This work presents the distribution and the partition of mercury (Hg) in the Curuai floodplain lakes along the Amazon River. The maximum Total Filtered Hg (T-FHg) concentrations in the floodplain lakes (28 to 52 pmol L − 1 ) coincide with the maximum T-FHg concentrations of the Amazon River and are measured during the flooding period. The lowest T-FHg values (3 to 5 pmol L − 1 ) are observed during the flood peak of the mainstream, during the rainy season, when waters are diluted by the local rainfall. In this system, Hg is mainly transported in the particulate phase, confirmed by elevated values of the Hg partition coefficient (4.77 < K d (Hg) < 5.83 L kg − 1 ). The highest Total Particulate Hg (T-PHg) concentrations (47–478 pmol L − 1 ) in the lakes are measured during the dry season when they are isolated from the mainstream. This enrichment is due to the elevated TSS content associated to the re-suspension of the bottom sediments by the wind action and the bioturbation in shallow water lakes. In the flooded system, the lakes show different geochemical characteristics that control the Hg distribution and partition. In the white water (WW) lakes, characterized by oxidative neutral waters and highest TSS contents (till 2041 mg L − 1 ), the T-PHg is associated to the particulate organic matter mainly during the dry season, while the T-FHg and T-FMn concentrations are correlated. In the black water (BW) lakes that show reductive pH conditions and lowest TSS load (2 to 52 mg L − 1 ), P-iron and T-PHg display a positive relationship whereas the redox conditions favor the desorption of Hg from the particulate to the filtered phase. The mercury mass budget estimated in this study confirms that the Curuai floodplain system acts as a particulate mercury trap, with a net storage of particulate Hg of 150 kg PHg year − 1 .