Levels, sources and influence mechanisms of heavy metal contamination in topsoils in Mirror Peninsula, East Antarctica

Qibin Xu; Zhuding Chu; Yuesong Gao; Yanjun Mei; Zhongkang Yang; Yikang Huang; Lianjiao Yang; Zhouqing Xie; Liguang Sun

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113552

Levels, sources and influence mechanisms of heavy metal contamination in topsoils in Mirror Peninsula, East Antarctica

Environ Pollut. 2020 Feb:257:113552. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113552. Epub 2019 Nov 14.

Authors

Qibin Xu¹, Zhuding Chu¹, Yuesong Gao¹, Yanjun Mei², Zhongkang Yang¹, Yikang Huang¹, Lianjiao Yang¹, Zhouqing Xie³, Liguang Sun⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China.
² Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China; State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal Universtiy, Shanghai 200241, China.
³ Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China. Electronic address: zqxie@ustc.edu.cn.
⁴ Institute of Polar Environment & Anhui Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, Anhui, China. Electronic address: slg@ustc.edu.cn.

PMID: 31771929
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2019.113552

Abstract

Heavy metal contaminants in Mirror Peninsula, East Antarctica, have rarely been studied and the source and influencing factors are poorly understood. We sampled a grid of 189 topsoil samples from Mirror Peninsula and analyzed the concentrations of Zn, Cu, U, Cr, Ga, Pb, Hg, Se and As; we also calculated the chemical index of alteration (CIA), a proxy of weathering. The results show that the distributions of Cr, Ga, Cu, and Zn are associated with weathering; the distributions of As and Pb are related to vehicle use and unloading activities at the wharfs, respectively; and the distribution of Hg is likely associated with both anthropogenic impacts and biological activity. The contamination level of these heavy metals in Mirror Peninsula is relatively low and within the controllable range. Both weathering processes and anthropogenic impacts can cause the enrichment of heavy metals; thus reliable source apportionment is crucial in studying heavy metal enrichment and contamination.

Keywords: Antarctic contamination; Heavy metal; Human impacts; Source apportionment; Weathering.

MeSH terms

Antarctic Regions
China
Environmental Monitoring*
Mercury
Metals, Heavy / analysis*
Soil Pollutants / analysis*

Substances

Metals, Heavy
Soil Pollutants
Mercury