Drevnick Paul E.

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Drevnick
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Paul E.
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  • Preprint
    Increased accumulation of sulfur in lake sediments of the high Arctic
    ( 2010-08-31) Drevnick, Paul E. ; Muir, Derek C. G. ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; Horgan, Martin J. ; Canfield, Donald E. ; Boyle, John F. ; Rose, Neil L.
    We report a synchronous increase in accumulation of reduced inorganic sulfur since c. 1980 in sediment cores from eight of nine lakes studied in the Canadian Arctic and Svalbard (Norway). Sediment incubations and detailed analyses of sediment profiles from two of the lakes indicate that increases in sulfur accumulation may be due ultimately to a changing climate. Warming-induced lengthening of the ice-free season is resulting in well-documented increases in algal production and sedimentation of the resulting detrital matter. Algal detritus is a rich source of labile carbon, which in these sediments stimulates dissimilatory sulfate reduction. The sulfide produced is stored in sediment (as acid volatile sulfide), converted to other forms of sulfur, or reoxidized to sulfate and lost to the water column. An acceleration of the sulfur cycle in Arctic lakes could have profound effects on important biogeochemical processes, such as carbon burial and mercury methylation.
  • Preprint
    Increase in mercury in Pacific yellowfin tuna
    ( 2015-01) Drevnick, Paul E. ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; Horgan, Martin J.
    Mercury is a toxic trace metal that can accumulate to levels that threaten human and environmental health. Models and empirical data suggest that humans are responsible for a great deal of the mercury actively cycling in the environment at present. Thus, we would predict that the concentration of mercury in fish should have increased dramatically since the Industrial Revolution. Evidence in support of this hypothesis has been hard to find, however, and some studies have suggested that analyses of fish show no change in mercury concentration. By compiling and re-analyzing published reports on yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) caught near Hawai’i over the past half century, we find that the concentration of mercury in these fish is currently increasing at a rate ≥ 3.8 % per year. This rate of increase is consistent with a model of anthropogenic forcing on the mercury cycle in the North Pacific, and suggests fish mercury concentrations are keeping pace with current loadings increases to the ocean. Future increases in mercury in yellowfin tuna and other fishes can be avoided by reductions in atmospheric mercury emissions from point sources.
  • Preprint
    Net atmospheric mercury deposition to Svalbard : estimates from lacustrine sediments
    ( 2012-05) Drevnick, Paul E. ; Yang, Handong ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; Rose, Neil L.
    In this study we used lake sediments, which faithfully record Hg inputs, to derive estimates of net atmospheric Hg deposition to Svalbard, Norwegian Arctic. With the exception of one site affected by local pollution, the study lakes show twofold to fivefold increases in sedimentary Hg accumulation since 1850, likely due to long-range atmospheric transport and deposition of anthropogenic Hg. Sedimentary Hg accumulation in these lakes is a linear function of the ratio of catchment area to lake area, and we used this relationship to model net atmospheric Hg flux: preindustrial and modern estimates are 2.5±3.3 μg/m2/y and 7.0±3.0 μg/m2/y, respectively. The modern estimate, by comparison with data for Hg wet deposition, indicates that atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) or other dry deposition processes contribute approximately half (range 0-70%) of the net flux. Hg from AMDEs may be moving in significant quantities into aquatic ecosystems, where it is a concern because of contamination of aquatic food webs.
  • Preprint
    Mercury flux to sediments of Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada
    ( 2009-08-12) Drevnick, Paul E. ; Shinneman, Avery L. C. ; Lamborg, Carl H. ; Engstrom, Daniel R. ; Bothner, Michael H. ; Oris, James T.
    We report estimates of mercury (Hg) flux to the sediments of Lake Tahoe, California-Nevada: 2 and 15-20 µg/m2/yr in preindustrial and modern sediments, respectively. These values result in a modern to preindustrial flux ratio of 7.5-10, which is similar to flux ratios recently reported for other alpine lakes in California, and greater than the value of 3 typically seen worldwide. We offer plausible hypotheses to explain the high flux ratios, including (1) proportionally less photoreduction and evasion of Hg with the onset of cultural eutrophication and (2) a combination of enhanced regional oxidation of gaseous elemental Hg and transport of the resulting reactive gaseous Hg to the surface with nightly downslope flows of air. If either of these mechanisms is correct, it could lead to local/regional solutions to lessen the impact of globally increasing anthropogenic emissions of Hg on Lake Tahoe and other alpine ecosystems.
  • Preprint
    Mercury toxicity in livers of northern pike (Esox lucius) from Isle Royale, USA
    ( 2007-12) Drevnick, Paul E. ; Roberts, Aaron P. ; Otter, Ryan R. ; Hammerschmidt, Chad R. ; Klaper, Rebecca ; Oris, James T.
    Many laboratory studies have documented that mercury can be toxic to fish, but it is largely unknown if mercury is toxic to fish in their natural environments. The objective of our study was to investigate the toxic effects of mercury on northern pike (Esox lucius) at Isle Royale, Michigan. In 124 northern pike from eight inland lakes, concentrations of total mercury in skin-on fillets ranged from 0.069 to 0.622 µg/g wet wt. Concentrations of total mercury in livers increased exponentially compared with concentrations in fillets, to a maximum of 3.1 µg/g wet wt. Methylmercury constituted a majority of the mercury in livers with total mercury concentrations <0.5 µg/g wet wt, but declined to 28-51% of the mercury in livers with total mercury concentrations >0.5 µg/g wet wt. Liver color (absorbance at 400 nm) varied among northern pike and was positively related to liver total mercury concentration. The pigment causing variation in liver color was identified as lipofuscin, which results from lipid peroxidation of membranous organelles. An analysis of covariance revealed lipofuscin accumulation was primarily associated with mercury exposure, and this association obscured any normal accumulation from aging. We also documented decreased lipid reserves in livers and poor condition factors of northern pike with high liver total mercury concentrations. Our results suggest (i) northern pike at Isle Royale are experiencing toxicity at concentrations of total mercury common for northern pike and other piscivorous fish elsewhere in North America and (ii) liver color may be useful for indicating mercury exposure and effects in northern pike at Isle Royale and possibly other aquatic ecosystems and other fish species.