| 1. |
- Soerensen, Anne L., et al.
(författare)
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Deciphering the Role of Water Column Redoxclines on Methylmercury Cycling Using Speciation Modeling and Observations From the Baltic Sea
- 2018
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Ingår i: Global Biogeochemical Cycles. - : American Geophysical Union (AGU). - 0886-6236 .- 1944-9224. ; 32:10, s. 1498-1513
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Oxygen-depleted areas are spreading in coastal and offshore waters worldwide, but the implication for production and bioaccumulation of neurotoxic methylmercury (MeHg) is uncertain. We combined observations from six cruises in the Baltic Sea with speciation modeling and incubation experiments to gain insights into mercury (Hg) dynamics in oxygen depleted systems. We then developed a conceptual model describing the main drivers of Hg speciation, fluxes, and transformations in water columns with steep redox gradients. MeHg concentrations were 2-6 and 30-55 times higher in hypoxic and anoxic than in normoxic water, respectively, while only 1-3 and 1-2 times higher for total Hg (THg). We systematically detected divalent inorganic Hg (Hg-II) methylation in anoxic water but rarely in other waters. In anoxic water, high concentrations of dissolved sulfide cause formation of dissolved species of Hg-II: HgS2H(aq)- and Hg (SH)(2)(0)((aq)). This prolongs the lifetime and increases the reservoir of Hg-II readily available for methylation, driving the high MeHg concentrations in anoxic zones. In the hypoxic zone and at the hypoxic-anoxic interface, Hg concentrations, partitioning, and speciation are all highly dynamic due to processes linked to the iron and sulfur cycles. This causes a large variability in bioavailability of Hg, and thereby MeHg concentrations, in these zones. We find that zooplankton in the summertime are exposed to 2-6 times higher MeHg concentrations in hypoxic than in normoxic water. The current spread of hypoxic zones in coastal systems worldwide could thus cause an increase in the MeHg exposure of food webs.
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| 2. |
- Temnerud, Johan, et al.
(författare)
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Spatial patterns of some trace elements in four Swedish stream networks
- 2013
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Ingår i: Biogeosciences. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1726-4170 .- 1726-4189. ; 10, s. 1407-1423
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Four river basins in southern Sweden, with catchment sizes from 0.3 to 127 km(2) (median 1.9), were sampled in October 2007. The 243 samples were analysed for 26 trace elements (Ag, As, Au, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ga, Ge, In, La, Li, Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Tl, Ti, U, V and Zn) to identify spatial patterns within drainage networks. The range and median of each element were defined for different stream orders, and relationships to catchment characteristics, including deposition history, were explored. The sampling design made it possible to compare the differences along 40 stream reaches, above and below 53 stream junctions with 107 tributaries and between the 77 inlets and outlets of 36 lakes. The largest concentration differences (at reaches, junctions and lakes) were observed for lakes, with outlets usually having lower concentration compared to the inlets for As, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Ga, Ge, Ni, Pb, Sn, Ti, Tl, U, V and Zn. Significantly lower concentrations were observed for Cd and Co when comparing headwaters with downstream sites in each catchment. Common factor analysis (FA) revealed that As, Bi, Cr, Ga, Ge, Tl and V co-vary positively with Al, Fe and total organic carbon (TOC) and negatively with La, Li and pH. The strong removal of a large number of trace elements when passing through lakes is evident though in the FA, where lake surface coverage plots opposite to many of those elements. Forest volume does not respond in a similar systematic fashion and, surprisingly, the amount of wetland does not relate strongly to either Fe or TOC at any of the rivers. A better understanding of the quantitative removal of organic carbon and iron will aid in understanding trace element fluxes from landscapes rich in organic matter and iron.
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| 3. |
- Sjöberg, Susanne, et al.
(författare)
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Rare Earth element enriched birnessite in water-bearing fractures, the Ytterby mine, Sweden
- 2017
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Ingår i: Applied Geochemistry. - Amsterdam : Elsevier. - 0883-2927 .- 1872-9134. ; 78, s. 158-171
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Characterization of a black substance exuding from fractured bedrock in a subterranean tunnel revealed a secondary manganese oxide mineralisation exceptionally enriched in rare earth elements (REE). Concentrations are among the highest observed in secondary ferromanganese precipitates in nature. The tunnel is located in the unsaturated zone at shallow depth in the former Ytterby mine, known for the discovery of yttrium, scandium, tantalum and five rare earth elements.Elemental analysis and X-ray diffraction of the black substance establish that the main component is a manganese oxide of the birnessite type. Minor fractions of calcite, other manganese oxides, feldspars, quartz and about 1% organic matter were also found, but no iron oxides were identified. The Ytterby birnessite contains REE, as well as calcium, magnesium and traces of other metals. The REE, which constitute 1% of the dry mass and 2% of the metal content, are firmly included in the mineral structure and are not released by leaching at pH 1.5 or higher. A strong preference for the trivalent REE over divalent and monovalent metals is indicated by concentration ratios of the substance to fracture water. The REE-enriched birnessite has the general formula Mx(Mn3+,Mn4+)2O4·(H2O)n with M = (0.37–0.41) Ca + 0.02 (REE + Y), 0.04 Mg and (0.02–0.03) other metals, and with [Mn3+]/[Mn4+] = 0.86–1.00.The influence of microorganisms on the accumulation of this REE enriched substance is demonstrated by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Results show that it is composed of two or more manganese phases, one of which has a biogenic signature. In addition, the occurrence of C31 to C35 extended side chain hopanoids among the identified lipid biomarkers combined with the absence of ergosterol, a fungal lipid biomarker, indicate that the in-situ microbial community is bacterial rather than fungal.
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| 4. |
- Kärrman, Anna, 1975-, et al.
(författare)
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Can determination of extractable organofluorine (EOF) be standardized? First interlaboratory comparisons of EOF and fluorine mass balance in sludge and water matrices
- 2021
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Ingår i: Environmental Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2050-7887 .- 2050-7895. ; 23:10, s. 1458-1465
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The high proportion of unidentified extractable organofluorine (EOF) observed globally in humans and the environment indicates widespread occurrence of unknown per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). However, efforts to standardize or assess the reproducibility of EOF methods are currently lacking. Here we present the first EOF interlaboratory comparison in water and sludge. Three participants (four organizations) analyzed unfortified and PFAS-fortified ultrapure water, two unfortified groundwater samples, unfortified wastewater treatment plant effluent and sludge, and an unfortified groundwater extract. Participants adopted common sample handling strategies and target lists for EOF mass balance but used in-house combustion ion-chromatography (CIC) and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods. EOF accuracy ranged from 85-101% and 76-109% for the 60 and 334 ng L-1 fluorine (F) - fortified water samples, respectively, with between-laboratory variation of 9-19%, and within-laboratory variation of 3-27%. In unfortified sludge and aqueous samples, between-laboratory variation ranged from 21-37%. The contribution from sum concentrations of 16 individual PFAS (∑PFAS-16) to EOF ranged from 2.2-60% but extended analysis showed that other targets were prevalent, in particular ultra-short-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (e.g. trifluoroacetic acid) in aqueous samples and perfluoroalkyl acid-precursors (e.g. polyfluoroalkyl phosphate diesters) in sludge. The EOF-CIC method demonstrated promising accuracy, robustness and reporting limits but poor extraction efficiency was observed for some targets (e.g. trifluoroacetic acid).
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| 5. |
- Routh, Joyanto, et al.
(författare)
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Distribution of arsenic and its mobility in shallow aquifer sediments from Ambikanagar, West Bengal, India
- 2011
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Ingår i: Applied Geochemistry. - : Elsevier. - 0883-2927 .- 1872-9134. ; 26:4, s. 505-515
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Sediments from a core retrieved during installation of a shallow drinking water well in Ambikanagar (West Bengal, India) were analyzed for various physical and chemical parameters. The geochemical analyses included: (1) a 4-step sequential extraction scheme to determine the distribution of As between different fractions, (2) As speciation (As(3+) vs. As(5+)), and (3) C, N and S isotopes. The sediments have a low percentage of organic C and N (0.10-0.56% and 0.01-0.05%, respectively). Arsenic concentration is between 2 and 7 mg kg(-1), and it is mainly associated with the residual fraction, less susceptible to chemical weathering. The proportion of As(3+) in these sediments is high and ranges from 24% to 74%. Arsenic in the second fraction (reducible) correlates well with Mn, and in the residual fraction As correlates well with several transition elements. The stable isotope results indicate microbial oxidation of organic matter involving SO(4) reduction. Oxidation of primary sulfide minerals and release of As from reduction of Fe(oxy)hydroxides do not seem important mechanisms in As mobilization. Instead, the dominance of As(3+) and presence of As(5+) reducing microorganisms in this shallow aquifer imply As remobilization involving microbial processes that needs further investigations.
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| 6. |
- Chen, Deliang, 1961, et al.
(författare)
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Summary of a workshop on extreme weather events in a warming world organized by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
- 2020
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Ingår i: Tellus Series B-Chemical and Physical Meteorology. - : Stockholm University Press. - 1600-0889 .- 0280-6509. ; 72:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Climate change is not only about changes in means of climatic variables such as temperature, precipitation and wind, but also their extreme values which are of critical importance to human society and ecosystems. To inspire the Swedish climate research community and to promote assessments of international research on past and future changes in extreme weather events against the global climate change background, the Earth Science Class of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences organized a workshop entitled 'Extreme weather events in a warming world' in 2019. This article summarizes and synthesizes the key points from the presentations and discussions of the workshop on changes in floods, droughts, heat waves, as well as on tropical cyclones and extratropical storms. In addition to reviewing past achievements in these research fields and identifying research gaps with a focus on Sweden, future challenges and opportunities for the Swedish climate research community are highlighted.
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| 7. |
- Comstedt, Daniel, et al.
(författare)
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Autotrophic and heterotrophic soil respiration in a Norway spruce forest : estimating the root decomposition and soil moisture effects in a trenching experiment
- 2011
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Ingår i: Biogeochemistry. - : Springer. - 0168-2563 .- 1573-515X. ; 104:1-3, s. 121-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The two components of soil respiration, autotrophic respiration (from roots, mycorrhizal hyphae and associated microbes) and heterotrophic respiration (from decomposers), was separated in a root trenching experiment in a Norway spruce forest. In June 2003, cylinders (29.7 cm diameter) were inserted to 50 cm soil depth and respiration was measured both outside (control) and inside the trenched areas. The potential problems associated with the trenching treatment, increased decomposition of roots and ectomycorrhizal mycelia and changed soil moisture conditions, were handled by empirical modelling. The model was calibrated with respiration, moisture and temperature data of 2004 from the trenched plots as a training set. We estimate that over the first 5 months after the trenching, 45% of respiration from the trenched plots was an artefact of the treatment. Of this, 29% was a water difference effect and 16% resulted from root and mycelia decomposition. Autotrophic and heterotrophic respiration contributed to about 50% each of total soil respiration in the control plots averaged over the two growing seasons. We show that the potential problems with the trenching, decomposing roots and mycelia and soil moisture effects, can be handled by a modelling approach, which is an alternative to the sequential root harvesting technique.
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| 8. |
- Wöhrnschimmel, Henry, et al.
(författare)
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Ten years after entry into force of the Stockholm Convention : What do air monitoring data tell about its effectiveness?
- 2016
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 217, s. 149-158
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- More than a decade ago, the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs), one of the multilateral environmental agreements administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), entered into force. The objective of this Convention is to protect human health and the environment by controlling the releases of POPs. According to its Article 16, the effectiveness of the Stockholm Convention shall be evaluated using comparable monitoring data on the presence of POPs as well as their regional and global environmental transport. Here, we present a time series analysis on atmospheric POP concentrations from 15 monitoring stations in North America and Europe that provide long-term data and have started operations between 1990 and 2003. We systematically searched for temporal trends and significant structural changes in temporal trends that might result from the provisions of the Stockholm Convention. We find that such structural changes do occur, but they are related mostly to effects of national regulations enforced prior to the implementation of the Stockholm Convention, rather than to the enforcement of the provisions laid out in the Convention. One example is that concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls, many of which started to decrease rapidly during the 1990s. Also effects of chemical transport and fate, for instance the re-volatilization of POPs from secondary sources, are thought to be a cause of some of the observed structural changes. We conclude that a decade of air monitoring data has not been sufficient for detecting general and statistically significant effects of the Stockholm Convention. Based on these lessons, we present recommendations for the future operation of existing monitoring programs and advocate for a stricter enforcement of the provisions of the Stockholm Convention, in the current absence of proof for its effectiveness.
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| 9. |
- Awad, Raed, et al.
(författare)
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Emerging per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in human milk from Sweden and China
- 2020
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Ingår i: Environmental Science. - : Royal Society of Chemistry. - 2050-7887 .- 2050-7895. ; 22:10, s. 2023-2030
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Twenty per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) were determined in human milk from residents of three Chinese cities (Shanghai, Jiaxing, and Shaoxing; [n = 10 individuals per city]), sampled between 2010 and 2016. These data were compared to a combination of new and previously reported PFAS concentrations in human milk from Stockholm, Sweden, collected in 2016 (n = 10 individuals). Across the three Chinese cities, perfluorooctanoate (PFOA; sum isomers), 9-chlorohexadecafluoro-3-oxanone-1-sulfonic acid (9Cl-PF3ONS; also known as 6:2 Cl-PFESA or by its trade name "F53-B"), and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS; sum isomers) occurred at the highest concentrations among all PFAS (up to 411, 976, and 321 pg mL-1, respectively), while in Stockholm, PFOA and PFOS were dominant (up to 89 and 72 pg mL-1, respectively). 3H-Perfluoro-3-[(3-methoxy-propoxy)propanoic acid] (ADONA) was intermittently detected but at concentrations below the method quantification limit (i.e. <10 pg mL-1) in Chinese samples, and was non-detectable in Swedish milk. The extremely high concentrations of F53-B in Chinese milk suggest that human exposure assessments focused only on legacy substances may severely underestimate overall PFAS exposure in breastfeeding infants.
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| 10. |
- Berger, Urs, et al.
(författare)
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Recent developments in trace analysis of poly- and perfluoroalkyl substances
- 2011
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Ingår i: Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1618-2642 .- 1618-2650. ; 400:6, s. 1625-1635
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Recent developments, improvements, and trends in the ultra-trace determination of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in environmental and human samples are highlighted and the remaining challenges and uncertainties are outlined and discussed. Understanding the analytical implications of such things as adsorption of PFASs to surfaces, effects of differing matrices, varying PFAS isomer response factors, potential bias effects of sampling, sample preparation, and analysis is critical to measuring highly fluorinated compounds at trace levels. These intricate analytical issues and the potential consequences of ignoring to deal with them correctly are discussed and documented with examples. Isomer-specific analysis and the development of robust multi-chemical methods are identified as topical trends in method development for an ever-increasing number of PFASs of environmental and human interest. Ultimately, the state-of-the-art of current analytical method accuracy is discussed on the basis of results from interlaboratory comparison studies.
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