Citation:

PANGAEA.987814 (dataset in review)

Name: Mercury concentrations, geochemical parameters, and sedimentological characteristics of terrestrial and marine sediments along the Yukon coast, Canada, during Yukon Coast 2024 expedition
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Keywords: Arctic; Beaufort Sea shelf; biogeochemistry; Grain size data; marine; mercury; Methylmercury; Nitrogen; Organic carbon; Permafrost; Yukon Coastal Plain

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Abstract:

Terrestrial and marine YC24 sediment samples were collected on Herschel Island–Qikiqtaruk and the Yukon mainland coast in July 2024. The focus was on Hg and methylmercury (MeHg) measurements, while dry bulk density (DBD), total organic carbon (TOC), total inorganic carbon (TIC), total nitrogen (TN) and grain size distribution were analyzed as well. All samples were frozen and stored under dark, air-free conditions until analysis. Whenever possible, samples were taken with a known volume to determine DBD. The sediments were freeze-dried with a temperature of 35 °C at the heating plates and split into three subsamples. One subsample was ground for Hg, TOC, TIC, and TN analyses using a planetary mill. For Hg, a Milestone Direct Mercury Analysis System (DMA-80 evo, MWS-GmbH) was used. TOC and TIC were measured with an ELEMENTAR soli TOC cube, and TN was determined using an ELEMENTAR rapid MAX N exceed. The second subsample was ground with a coffee grinder for MeHg analysis to allow for better temperature control while grinding. MeHg was extracted from the sediment using Dichloromethane (CH2Cl2, DCM) and then purged from DCM with nitrogen gas. The analysis was conducted with a Tekran® Model 2700 Methyl Mercury Analyzer connected to an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer, thermo scientific iCAP TQ (ICP-MS). The results from the ICP-MS were converted into MeHg concentrations via signal deconvolution. The third subsample was left unprocessed for grain size analysis. Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) was used to remove organic material prior to analysis, which was conducted with a Laser particle counter Mastersizer 3000 (MALVERN).

Keyword(s):

Arctic; Beaufort Sea shelf; biogeochemistry; Grain size data; marine; mercury; Methylmercury; Nitrogen; Organic carbon; Permafrost; Yukon Coastal Plain

Related to:

Jaspers, Katharina (2025): Frozen stocks and hidden fluxes: quantifying mercury release from coastal erosion along the Yukon coast, Canada [thesis]. University of Potsdam, Germany

Funding:

Horizon Europe (HorizonEU), grant/award no. 101133587 : PERMAFROST – POLLUTION - HEALTH (ILLUQ)

Coverage:

Median Latitude: 69.579783 * Median Longitude: -139.348130 * South-bound Latitude: 69.556971 * West-bound Longitude: -140.991677 * North-bound Latitude: 69.644824 * East-bound Longitude: -138.966337

Date/Time Start: 2024-07-18T00:00:00 * Date/Time End: 2024-07-22T00:00:00

Minimum Elevation: -11.0 m * Maximum Elevation: 0.0 m

Event(s):

YC24_MC1_1 * Latitude: 69.566778 * Longitude: -139.005121 * Date/Time: 2024-07-18T00:00:00 * Elevation: -4.0 m * Campaign: * Basis: AWI Arctic Land Expedition * Method/Device: Gravity corer (GC)

YC24_MC1_2 * Latitude: 69.565622 * Longitude: -139.000724 * Date/Time: 2024-07-18T00:00:00 * Elevation: -6.1 m * Campaign: * Basis: AWI Arctic Land Expedition * Method/Device: Gravity corer (GC)

YC24_MC1_3 * Latitude: 69.564600 * Longitude: -138.996983 * Date/Time: 2024-07-18T00:00:00 * Elevation: -7.4 m * Campaign: * Basis: AWI Arctic Land Expedition * Method/Device: Gravity corer (GC)

Parameter(s):

#	Name	Short Name	Unit	Principal Investigator	Method/Device	Comment
1	Event label	Event		Jaspers, Katharina
2	Device type	Device		Jaspers, Katharina
3	ELEVATION	Elevation	m a.s.l.	Jaspers, Katharina		Geocode
4	DATE/TIME	Date/Time		Jaspers, Katharina		Geocode – Date of event
5	Campaign	Campaign		Jaspers, Katharina
6	Sample number	Sample no		Jaspers, Katharina
7	Sample ID	Sample ID		Jaspers, Katharina
8	LATITUDE	Latitude		Jaspers, Katharina		Geocode
9	LONGITUDE	Longitude		Jaspers, Katharina		Geocode
10	Location	Location		Jaspers, Katharina
11	Comment	Comment		Jaspers, Katharina		Marine/terrestrial? [m/t]
12	Type	Type		Jaspers, Katharina
13	Depth, description	Depth desc		Jaspers, Katharina		Depth below surface [m]
14	DEPTH, sediment/rock	Depth sed	m	Jaspers, Katharina		Geocode – Mean
15	Depth, bathymetric	Bathy depth	m	Jaspers, Katharina		Water depth; given only for marine sediment samples
16	Wet mass	Wet m	g	Jaspers, Katharina		Wet sediment weight
17	Dry mass	Dry m	g	Jaspers, Katharina		Dry sediment weight
18	Comment	Comment		Jaspers, Katharina		Volumetric? [y/n]
19	Volume	Vol	cm³	Jaspers, Katharina
20	Density, dry bulk	DBD	g/cm³	Jaspers, Katharina	Calculated from dry weight/volume
21	Water content	Water cont	g/cm³	Jaspers, Katharina	Calculated as (wet weight - dry weight)/volume
22	Mercury	Hg	µg/kg	Jaspers, Katharina	Direct Mercury Analyzer (DMA), Milestone, DMA-80
23	Carbon, organic, total	TOC	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Carbon Analyzer, Elementar, soli TOC cube
24	Carbon, inorganic, total	TIC	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Carbon Analyzer, Elementar, soli TOC cube
25	Carbon, total	TC	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Carbon Analyzer, Elementar, soli TOC cube
26	Nitrogen, total	TN	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Nitrogen Analyzer, Elementar, rapid MAX N exceed
27	Methylmercury	MeHG	µg/kg	Jaspers, Katharina	MeHg extraction using Dichloromethane; Automated Methyl Mercury Analyzer (GC-CVAFS), Tekran Instruments, Model 2700; Triple Quadrupole ICP-MS, Thermo Scientific, iCAP TQ ICP-MS; signal deconvolution
28	Clay	Clay	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Particle size analyzer, Malvern Panalytical, Mastersizer 3000 laser
29	Silt	Silt	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Particle size analyzer, Malvern Panalytical, Mastersizer 3000 laser
30	Sand	Sand	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Particle size analyzer, Malvern Panalytical, Mastersizer 3000 laser
31	Gravel	Gravel	%	Jaspers, Katharina	Grain size, sieving
32	Median, grain size	D50	µm	Jaspers, Katharina	Calculated with GRADISTAT [version 9.1] (Blott and Pye, 2001)
33	Percentile 90	Perc90	µm	Jaspers, Katharina	Calculated with GRADISTAT [version 9.1] (Blott and Pye, 2001)
34	Grain size description	Grain size descr		Jaspers, Katharina	Calculated with GRADISTAT [version 9.1] (Blott and Pye, 2001)	Grainsize (qualitative)
35	Specific surface area	SSA	m²/kg	Jaspers, Katharina	Particle size analyzer, Malvern Panalytical, Mastersizer 3000 laser	includes only grains with a diameter < 1 mm

License:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC-BY-4.0) (License comes into effect after moratorium ends)

Status:

Curation Level: Enhanced curation (CurationLevelC)

Size:

2096 data points

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