Anomalous Hg contents in soils of Niue Island, South Pacific.

Whitehead, N. E.; Barrie, John; Rankin, P. C.

doi:10.2343/geochemj.24.371

Cited by 9 publications

(3 citation statements)

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“…This is considered by Whitehead et al (1990) to be the result of the action of Hgcontaining waters, though direct adsorption from seawater cannot be excluded.…”

Section: Elemental Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The elemental content of Niue Island soils as an indicator of their origin

Whitehead

Hunt

Leslie

et al. 1993

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics

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The major and trace element contents of 241 Niue Island lateritic soils were determined, mainly by X-ray fluorescence, to deduce soil origins. The analyses showed very low SiO 2 content, and a high content of Mg, P, V, Cr, Sr, Y, Hg, and α-counts, compared with other laterites worldwide. The distribution patterns are consistent with derivation by weathering from calcite and dolomite rather than from deposited volcanic ash. Weathering is a particularly novel explanation for the origin of the relatively high content of P in these soils. The soils contain a negative Ce anomaly, consistent with an origin from seawater or coral, but not volcanic ash. If recent results showing in situ formation of magnetite in soils are applicable, the soil mineralogy is wholly consistent with an origin from calcite/dolomite. An origin from calcite is also consistent with the relative lack of volcanic ash on the seabed nearby, and very low deposition of aeolian dust. The radioactivity content is consistent neither with calcite/dolomite weathering, nor volcanic ash origin, but may have originated, like a few of the stable elements, from rising hydrothermal solutions.

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“…This is considered by Whitehead et al (1990) to be the result of the action of Hgcontaining waters, though direct adsorption from seawater cannot be excluded.…”

Section: Elemental Levelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The elemental content of Niue Island soils as an indicator of their origin

Whitehead

Hunt

Leslie

et al. 1993

New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics

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show abstract

“…El suelo no afectado por la contaminación presenta concentraciones de Hg entre 0,01 a 0,03 mg Hg kg -1 (Adriano, 2001;Senesil et al, 1999). Por lo tanto, las concentraciones de mercurio en los suelos en las áreas de estudio puede considerarse anormalmente altos de acuerdo con Whitehead et al (1990), quien encontró contenidos de mercurio mayores a 1,0 mg Hg kg -1 de los suelos de Niue, Islas del Pacífico Sur.…”

Section: Mercurio En Suelosunclassified

“…En el norte de Brasil, el mercurio mayoritariamente se encuentra en los suelos superficiales originados por las deposiciones atmosféricas, procedentes del proceso de amalgamación en la minería artesanal y/o a pequeña escala (Oliveira et al, 2001). Se encontraron altas concentraciones de mercurio superiores a 4000 µg Hg de Kg -1 , en los suelos cercanos a lugares de comercialización de oro, generados por la práctica común de quema de la amalgama para purificar Au (Whitehead et al, 1990;Rodrigues y Maddock, 1997). Se estima que de 500 a 1.000 g de mercurio se evaporan por kg de oro extraído, para luego condensarse y depositarse en las hojas de las plantas, suelos y ríos cercanos a la zona de quema (Wotruba et al, 1998), especialmente en épocas de lluvia (Rodrigues y Maddock, 1997).…”

Section: Introductionunclassified