A 14 500 year record of the accumulation of atmospheric mercury in peat:: volcanic signals, anthropogenic influences and a correlation to bromine accumulation

A 14 500 calendar year record of mercury accumulation rates has been obtained from an ombrotrophic peat bog in the Swiss Jura mountains. The range of natural (pre-industrial) mercury accumulation rates varied from 0.3 to 8.0 mug m(-2) yr(-1). During the Late Glacial and Holocene, climatic and volcanic signals were evident in the mercury record. Mercury accumulation rates increased by a factor of ca 5 during the Younger Dryas cold period. Short-term spikes in mercury accumulation rates, which correspond in time to known volcanic eruptions, occur during the late Boreal and Older Atlantic periods, when volcanic influences on mercury deposition appear to have been intensified due to increased atmospheric humidity. A correlation of mercury to bromine accumulation is observed throughout the preanthropogenic period. During the Holocene, mercury accumulation only exceeded the range of this correlation for a few short periods of elevated mercury deposition which correspond to known volcanic eruptions during the Older Atlantic. During historical times, mercury accumulation rates have exceeded the range of the correlation of mercury to bromine continuously since ca 1330 AD. This excess in mercury accumulation is interpreted as an indication of pollution. During the industrial period, mercury accumulation rates reached 107.6 mug m(-2) yr(-1), of which 84% was mercury that exceeded the correlation range. Mercury accumulation rates peaked again during the 1970s, with 78.8 mug m(-2) yr(-1). Early 20th century pollution appears to have been dominated by non-Swiss emissions from coal burning, whereas Swiss mercury emissions appear to have been the dominant pollution source during the mid and late 20th century. Current mercury accumulation rates at the site are similar to those ca 10 years ago, with modern deposition rates being ca 15 times their prehistorical average. Anthropogenic emissions of reactive brominated compounds could be contributing to increased atmospheric deposition rates of mercury. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.