Solid and aqueous mercury in remote river sediments (Litany River, French Guyana, South America)

Mercury content in river sediments was investigated, in the Haut Maroni river basin (French Guyana, South America), around Antecume-Pata, a village where Wayanas Amerindians are contaminated with mercury. Solid sediment particulate total mercury content indicate a 100 to 150 ng/g Hg geochemical background level. Sediments act as an environmental archive: gold mining contaminated sediments have up to 400 ng/g total mercury. Pore waters from contaminated sediments are enriched in Fe(II) and Hg(II) by a factor 40 compared to uncontaminated sediment pore waters, due to more acute anoxie conditions. They act therefore as a major source of dissolved mercury in remote tropical aquatic ecosystems. Keywords: Mercury, sediment, DGT and DET techniques, pore water, gold mining