Atmochemical mercury dispersion aureoles over active geologic structures of the northern Sea of Japan

Abstract

In the autumn of 2010, contrasting dispersion aureoles of atomic mercury were revealed in the northern Sea of Japan, in the vicinity of the Vityaz’ and Alpatov Rises. Based on the elimination method, the assumption is made that the aureoles resulted from the supply of mercury from hydrothermal or water–gas bottom sources through the sea water column, either in gas bubbles or as a result of diffusion and turbulent mixing. It is inferred that gas–mercury measurements can be used in geological research in sea water areas.

Ge-Hg-Rich Sphalerite and Pb, Sb, As, Hg, and Ag Sulfide Assemblages in Mud Volcanoes of Sakhalin Island, Russia: An Insight into Possible Origin

“…The instrument was tuned to ThO/Th ratios of <0.3% and U/Th ratios of ~100%, doubly charged cations were tuned to <0.4% using SRM NIST610, and SRM NIST612 as unknown. The measured isotopes were: 24 Mg, 27 Al, 28 Si, 33 S, 34 S, 39 K, 43 Ca, 44 Ca, 51 V, 52 Cr, 55 Mn, 56 Fe, 57 Fe, 59 Co, 60 Ni, 65 Cu, 66 Zn, 70 Ge, 71 Ga, 75 As, 82 Se, 95 Mo, 107 Ag, 111 Cd, 115 In, 121 Sb, 125 Te, 197 Au, 202 Hg, 205 Tl, 208 Pb, 209 Bi and 238 U.…”

“…On the other hand, the content of Hg in MV waters is expectedly moderate, given the abundance of Hg as low-solubility sulfide minerals in the mud masses [96]. The Hg contents are quite high (0.64-0.74 ppm) in the As mineral water of Sinegorsk borehole and still higher (0.81 ppm Hg) in the rain of Jebi typhoon (05.09.2018), which arrived at Sakhalin from the Japan islands across the Sea of Japan (Figure 1a), through atmospheric zones of stable Hg enrichment [27].…”

“…In Neogene-Quaternary time, atmospheric Hg could come to Sakhalin and its water systems from strong eruptions of magmatic volcanoes in the Japan and Kurile islands, which caused substantial short-term increases to the atmospheric Hg in their surroundings [27]. However, the Bykovo and Krasnoyarsk Formations, the main sources of mud volcanic material in the area, were deposited in the Late Cretaceous, in the absence of volcanic activity.…”

“…Rock formations: 1 = Cenozoic (mostly Paleogene-Neogene) sediments; 2 = Mesozoic (K) rocks; 3 = Paleozoic rocks, after [26]; 4 = faults, after [20], abbreviated as: ESF = East Sakhalin Fault, HB = Hidaku Belt, TPF = Tym-Poronay Fault, WSF = West Sakhalin Fault. 5 = sampled (a) and unsampled (b) mud volcanoes; 6 = aureoles of atmochemical mercury dispersion, after[27]. Mineragenic zone after[28]: 7 = the belt of Sb-Hg mineralization; 8 = Neogenic Ge-rich coal.…”