Mercury degassing rate from mineralized areas in the Mediterranean basin

Ferrara, R.; Maserti, B. E.; Andersson, Mats; Edner, Hans; Ragnarson, P; Svanberg, Sune

doi:10.1007/bf02404747

Cited by 37 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Ferrara et al, 1997;Lindberg et al, 1998;Todd et al, 1998b), we did not find any significant temperature effects which indicates a strong incorporation of the absorbed mercury into plant tissue. High temperatures are normally avoided in pretreatment and wet digestion of samples for mercury analyses.…”

Section: Y1supporting

confidence: 42%

“…Most of the mercury taken up by the roots of Lepidium latifolium during the growing season was emitted to the atmosphere (Todd et al, 1998a). The degassing rate from soil is strongly dependent on ambient temperature with both seasonal and daily variations (Ferrara et al, 1997). Measurements over forest areas in Tennessee and Sweden suggest that the mercury flux is dominated by emissions from plants and soil while dry deposition is less frequent.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Exchange of mercury between atmosphere and vegetation under contaminated conditions

Lodenius

Tulisalo

Soltanpour-Gargari

2003

Science of The Total Environment

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Adsorption and desorption of mercury was studied under laboratory conditions using moss (Sphagnum girgensohnii) and Rye grass (Lolium perenne) at different temperatures. Desorption was also studied in a transplantation experiment. The adsorption was rapid and strong for both plant species at different temperatures (q10 to q60 8C) and exposure times (1 h, 1 month) while the evaporation was negligible. Also the leaching of adsorbed mercury was of minor importance. The results emphasise the importance of vegetation in removal of mercury from the atmosphere. They also confirm the suitability of moss and grass for biomonitoring purposes. The high retention of mercury in moss even at q60 8C indicates the possibility of using higher temperatures in pretreatment of samples for mercury analyses. ᮊ

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Section: Y1supporting

confidence: 42%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exchange of mercury between atmosphere and vegetation under contaminated conditions

Lodenius

Tulisalo

Soltanpour-Gargari

2003

Science of The Total Environment

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“…200 ha), we estimated a total Hg flux during the diurnal hours on the order of 400 g h -1 . This level of Hg emission is of the same order of magnitude as the emissions from the Almadé n mine or from a large coal-fired power plant (Ferrara et al 1997). This level of Hg emission (around 3 ton year -1 ) may be significant at the local or regional levels, or even in the Hg global cycle, although it is not an important source of atmospheric Hg in relation to other anthropogenic sources (approx.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Atmospheric mercury emissions from polluted gold mining areas (Venezuela)

García-Sánchez

Contreras

Adams

et al. 2006

Environ Geochem Health

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Soil, waste rock and mud from mercury-gold amalgamation mining areas of El Callao (Venezuela) are highly enriched in Hg (0.5-500 microg g(-1)) relative to natural background concentrations (<0.1 microg g(-1)). Mercury fluxes to the atmosphere from twelve polluted sites of this area were measured in situ (6 a.m. to 8 p.m.) using a Plexiglas flux chamber connected to a portable mercury analyzer (model RA-915+; Lumex, St. Petersburg, Russia). Mercury fluxes ranged between 0.65 and 420.1 microg m(-2) h(-1), and the average flux range during the diurnal hours was 9.1-239.2 microg m(-2) h(-1). These flux values are five orders of magnitude higher than both reported world background Hg fluxes (1-69 ng m(-2) h(-1)) and the regional values, which are in the range 2-10 ng m(-2) h(-1). The flux results obtained in this study are, however, similar to those measured at Hg polluted sites such as chloro-alkali plants or polymetallic ore mining districts (>100,000 ng m(-2) h(-1)). The results from this study also show that Hg emissions from the soil are influenced by solar radiation, soil temperature and soil Hg concentration. Our data suggest that solar radiation may be the dominant factor affecting Hg degrees emission since the major species of mercury in polluted soil is Hg degrees (85-97% of total Hg). The simple release of Hg degrees vapor is probably the dominant process occurring with incident light in the field. The apparent activation energy for mercury emission indicates that the volatilization of mercury mainly occurred as a result of the vaporization of elemental mercury in soil. The degree of Hg emission differed significantly among the soil sites studied, which may be due to variations in soil texture, organic matter content and soil compaction.

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“…Almadén (central Spain), regarded as the largest geochemical anomaly of mercury on Earth, has been object of a reconnaissance survey, finding that no system (rocks, soils, sediments, waters, atmosphere, biota) in this mining district is free from strong Hg contamination (Ferrara, 1999;Ferrara et al, 1997Ferrara et al, ,1998Higueras, Oyarzun, Biester, Lillo, & Lorenzo, 2003;Higueras et al, 2006;Maserti, Ferrara, Panichi, & Storni, 1996;Sánchez et al, 2005).…”

Section: Atmospheric Mercury Associated To Miningmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…According to several authors (Ferrara & Maserti, 1994;Lacerda & Salomons, 1999;Mason et al, 1994), representative values of Hg concentrations in the atmosphere are in the order of 0.005 μg Nm −3 in non industrialised areas, between 0.02 and 0.05 μg Nm −3 in industrialised areas, and higher than 10 μg Nm −3 in areas where mine wastes are stored (spoil heaps).…”

Section: Atmospheric Mercury Associated To Miningmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atmospheric Monitoring at Abandoned Mercury Mine Sites in Asturias (NW Spain)

Loredo

Soto

Álvarez

et al. 2006

Environ Monit Assess

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Mercury concentrations are usually significant in historic Hg mining districts all over the world, so the atmospheric environment is potentially affected. In Asturias, northern Spain, past mining operations have left a legacy of ruins and Hg-rich wastes, soils and sediments in abandoned sites. Total Hg concentrations in the ambient air of these abandoned mine sites have been investigated to evaluate the impact of the Hg emissions. This paper presents the synthesis of current knowledge about atmospheric Hg contents in the area of the abandoned Hg mining and smelting works at 'La Peña-El Terronal' and La Soterraña, located in Mieres and Pola de Lena districts, respectively, both within the Caudal River basin. It was found that average atmospheric Hg concentrations are higher than the background level in the area (0.1 microg Nm(-3)), reaching up to 203.7 microg Nm(-3) at 0.2 m above the ground level, close to the old smelting chimney at El Terronal mine site. Data suggest that past Hg mining activities have big influences on the increased Hg concentrations around abandoned sites and that atmospheric transfer is a major pathway for Hg cycling in these environments.

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Mercury degassing rate from mineralized areas in the Mediterranean basin

Cited by 37 publications

References 15 publications

Exchange of mercury between atmosphere and vegetation under contaminated conditions

Exchange of mercury between atmosphere and vegetation under contaminated conditions

Atmospheric mercury emissions from polluted gold mining areas (Venezuela)

Atmospheric Monitoring at Abandoned Mercury Mine Sites in Asturias (NW Spain)

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