Articles | Volume 21, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-817-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-21-817-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
17 Apr 2025
Research article |
| 17 Apr 2025
| 17 Apr 2025
Evidence for millennial-scale interactions between Hg cycling and hydroclimate from Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
now at: Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Basel, Bernoullistrasse 32, 4056 Basel, Switzerland
Joost Frieling
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
Timothy M. Shanahan
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Texas, USA
Tamsin A. Mather
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
Nicholas McKay
School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA
Stuart A. Robinson
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
David M. Pyle
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
Isabel M. Fendley
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3AN, UK
Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
Ruth Kiely
Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
William D. Gosling
Institute for Biodiversity & Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Clim. Past, 16, 2381–2400, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2381-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-16-2381-2020, 2020
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We measured plant wax in leaves and soils along an environmental gradient in the Ecuadorian Andes. These data show how the wax composition changes as the plant material degrades in different environments. Local temperature is reflected in the wax despite the level degradation. The study results warrant further research into a possible causal relationship that may lead to the development of n-alkane patterns as a novel palaeoecological proxy.
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Short summary
Few tropical mercury (Hg) records extend beyond ~ 12 ka, meaning our current understanding of Hg behaviour may not fully account for the impact of long-term hydroclimate changes on the Hg cycle in these environments. Here, we present an ~ 96 kyr Hg record from Lake Bosumtwi, Ghana. A coupled response is observed between Hg flux and shifts in sediment composition reflective of changes in lake level, suggesting that hydroclimate may be a key driver of tropical Hg cycling over millennial timescales.
Few tropical mercury (Hg) records extend beyond ~ 12 ka, meaning our current understanding of Hg...
