Mercury in aquatic systems of Nahuel Huapi National Park: a natural biogeochemical Hotspot in Northern Patagonia

ARCAGNI MARINA; CÁRDENAS, CAROLINA SOTO; FAJON VESNA; RIZZO, ANDREA; REISSIG, MARIANA; QUEIMALIÑOS, CLAUDIA; RIBEIRO GUEVARA SERGIO; HORVAT MILENA; PEREZ CARÁN, SOLEDAD; DIÉGUEZ MARÍA DEL CARMEN

Krakow

Congreso; 14th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant; 2019

Nahuel Huapi National Park (NHNP) includes many freshwater olig-otrophic ecosystems born in the Andes that are the main water source for the vast arid stretch of Northeastern Patagonia which holds most human settlements and activities of the region. In headwater catch-ments several investigations have reported moderate to high Hg levels in lake sediments, aquatic biota and terrestrial bioindicators, attributing them to long and short range atmospheric transport, volcanic activity in the Andes and biomass burning. The sharp W-E orographic precipita-tion gradient (3500 and 1200 mmy-1) and the contrasting atmospheric mercury fluxes recorded at the W (∼7 ngm-3) and E (