Abstract
Seasonal changes in total mercury concentrations in surface water were observed for the Wujiang River, with higher values at the time of greater flow. The total mercury in this river was mostly associated with suspended particles, particulate mercury accounting for 84% of the total mercury flux on average during the high flow period, and 52% of the total mercury flux on average in the low flow period. Significant losses of Hg from the water were observed in the downstreams of the reservoir. In addition, the concentrations of particulate mercury in the downstreams of reservoir appeared to have been enhanced by sediment re-suspension and shoreline erosion caused by flood discharge, while the filtered portion decreased. These observations suggested that reservoirs played an important role in controlling the transport and fate of mercury in the Wujiang River.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Han Guilin and Liu Congqiang (2001) Hydrogeochemistiy of Wujiang River water in Guizhou Province, China [J].Chinese Journal of Geochemistry.22, 240–248.
Jiang Hongmei, Feng Xinbin, Dai Qianjing, Tao Faxiang, and Liu Congqiang (2003) The distribution and speciation of mercury in Wujiang River [J].Journal de Physique.107, 679–682.
Jiang Hongmei, Feng Xinbin, Dai Qianjing, and Wang Yuchun (2004) A primary study on speciation and distribution of mercury in Wujiang River [J].Environmental Chemistry.22, 560–565 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Mason R. P., Fitzgerald W. F., Hurley J., Hanson A. K., Donaghay P. L., and Sieburth J. M. (1993) Mercury biogeochemical cycling in a stratified estuary [J].Limnology and Oceanography.38, 1227–1241.
McCully P. (1996) Silenced Rivers — The Ecology and Politics of Large Dams [M].Zed Books, London.
Vörösmarty C. J., Sharma K. P., Fekete B. M., Copeland A. H., Holden J., Marble J., and Lough J. A. (1997) The storage and aging of continental runoff in large reservoir systems of the world [J].Ambio.26, 210–219.
Yan Haiyu, Feng Xinbin, Shang Lihai, Tang Shunlin, and Qiu Guangle (2003) Speciation analysis of ultra trace levels of mercury in natural waters [J].Journal of Instrumental Analysis.22, 10–13 (in Chinese with English abstract).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
This work was financially supported by the “Hundred Talent Plan” and the Program sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences and CAS Innovation Project (KZCX2-105), and by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 40173037).