Trends in sedimentary Cladocera and metal(loid)s from Williams Lake (Washington, USA) track ∼125 years of trans-boundary contamination from smelter emissions in the upper Columbia River valley

Would, Jamie A.; Rühland, Kathleen M.; Simmatis, Brigitte; Evans, Marlene S.; Meyer-Jacob, Carsten; Smol, John P.

doi:https://science-ouverte.canada.ca/handle/123456789/2932

Trends in sedimentary Cladocera and metal(loid)s from Williams Lake (Washington, USA) track ∼125 years of trans-boundary contamination from smelter emissions in the upper Columbia River valley

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dc.contributor.author: Would, Jamie A.; Rühland, Kathleen M.; Simmatis, Brigitte; Evans, Marlene S.; Meyer-Jacob, Carsten; Smol, John P.
dc.date.accepted: 2024-08-24
dc.date.accessioned: 2024-09-11T14:45:19Z
dc.date.available: 2024-09-11T14:45:19Z
dc.date.issued: 2024-11-25
dc.date.submitted: 2024-04-19
dc.description.abstract - en: The lead‑zinc smelter at Trail (British Columbia, Canada) has operated continuously for ∼125 years, with long-standing concerns that transboundary metal(loid) and sulphur emissions have contaminated water bodies in both western Canada and Washington (WA), USA. To assess aquatic ecosystems affected by over a century of industrial contamination requires an understanding of pre-smelting conditions. Here, we use a dated sediment core from Williams Lake (WA), downwind of both the Trail and the short-lived LeRoi (Northport, WA) smelters, to track regional contaminant history and other environmental stressors. Specifically, we examine a selection of chemical elements, cladoceran assemblages, visible range spectroscopy-inferred chlorophyll a (VRS-Chl a) and visible near-infrared spectroscopy-inferred lake-water total organic carbon (VNIRS-TOC). Sedimentary proxies recorded the onset of smelting in 1896 CE, peak periods of aerial emissions in the early to mid-20th century, and the history of emission controls. With a few exceptions, sedimentary metal(loid)s exceeded Canadian Interim Sediment Quality Guidelines during the height of the smelting era and have declined substantially since ca. 2000 CE. The loss of metal-sensitive Cladocera and declines in primary production (VRS-Chl a) at the onset of the regional smelting era indicate a strong biological response to airborne industrial contamination. The largest cladoceran change in the sediment record was concurrent with accelerated mitigation efforts at the Trail facilities following the 1960s; however, this compositional shift was between ecologically similar daphniid taxa. Steep declines in VNIRS-TOC concentrations during the period of peak emissions at Trail suggested an increase in sulphur deposition on the landscape that reduced terrestrial carbon supply. However, the persistence of calcium-sensitive daphniids throughout the record indicates that alkaline Williams Lake had not acidified. Current cladoceran assemblages remain substantially distinct from pre-industrial communities, demonstrating how paleoecotoxicological approaches can be used to track the effects of multiple stressors in a temporally appropriate context.
dc.description.plainlanguage - en: Metal and sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from smelter at Trail, BC, has been the subject of several transboundary disputes. We conducted a paleolimnology study of Williams Lake, 42 km to the southwest, in the US. Despite recent reductions in metal emissions and sediment concentrations, the zooplankton community has not fully recovered; the lake was not acidified.
dc.description.plainlanguage - fr: Les émissions de métaux et de dioxyde de soufre (SO2) provenant de la fonderie de Trail, en Colombie-Britannique, ont fait l’objet de plusieurs litiges transfrontaliers. Nous avons mené une étude paléolimnologique sur le lac Williams, situé à 42 km au sud-ouest, aux États-Unis. Malgré les réductions récentes des émissions de métaux et des concentrations de sédiments, la communauté de zooplancton ne s’est pas entièrement rétablie; le lac n’était pas acidifié.
dc.identifier.doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.175816
dc.identifier.issn: 1879-1026; 0048-9697
dc.identifier.uri: https://science-ouverte.canada.ca/handle/123456789/2932
dc.language.iso: en
dc.publisher: Elsevier
dc.rights - en: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights - fr: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - en: Gold
dc.rights.openaccesslevel - fr: Or
dc.rights.uri - en: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.uri - fr: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.fr
dc.subject - en: Nature and environment; Science and technology
dc.subject - fr: Nature et environnement; Sciences et technologie
dc.subject.en - en: Nature and environment; Science and technology
dc.subject.fr - fr: Nature et environnement; Sciences et technologie
dc.title - en: Trends in sedimentary Cladocera and metal(loid)s from Williams Lake (Washington, USA) track ∼125 years of trans-boundary contamination from smelter emissions in the upper Columbia River valley
dc.title.alternative - fr: Les tendances des cladocères sédimentaires et des métaux (loïdes) du lac Williams (Washington, États-Unis) retracent quelque 125 ans de contamination transfrontalière par les émissions des fonderies dans la vallée supérieure du fleuve Columbia
dc.type - en: Article
dc.type - fr: Article
local.acceptedmanuscript.articlenum: 175816
local.article.journaltitle: Science of The Total Environment
local.article.journalvolume: 953
local.pagination: 14 pages
local.peerreview - en: Yes
local.peerreview - fr: Oui
local.requestdoi: No

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