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Spatial distribution and speciation of mercury and methyl mercury in the surface water of East River (Dongjiang) tributary of Pearl River Delta, South China

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Abstract

Purpose

The distribution and speciation of mercury in surface water of East River, Guangdong province, China were investigated.

Methods

All told 63 water samples were collected during a bi-weekly sampling campaign from July 15th to 26th, 2009.

Results

Total mercury (THg) concentrations in water samples ranged from 11 to 49 ng/L. Maximum levels of THg were measured in the lower reaches of East River, where it passes through a major industrial area adjacent to Dongguang city. Higher ratios of dissolved mercury (THg (aq)) in proportion to THg were restricted to the downstream section of East River. Concentrations of the minor constituent methyl mercury varied in the range from 0.08 to 0.21 ng/L. On average, methyl mercury made up 0.8% and 0.56% of THg (aq) and THg, respectively. Dissolved species dominated the speciation of methyl mercury in proportions up to 81%, which may imply that methyl mercury is largely produced in situ within the river water. Environmental factors (such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, etc.) are regarded to play an important role in Hg methylation processes were monitored and assessed.

Conclusions

In an international perspective, East River must be classified as a polluted river with considerably sources within its industrial areas. The THg (aq) and particle mercury fluxes to the Pearl River Estuary by East River run-off were estimated to be 0.31 ± 0.11 and 0.17 ± 0.13 t/year, respectively. Hence, in total nearly 0.5 t Hg is annually released to the sea from the East River tributary.

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Acknowledgement

This study was financially supported by Chinese Academy of Sciences (grant KZCX2-YW-Q02-01). We would like to thank our co-workers Gan Zhang, Lingping Zeng, Xiang Liu, Jizhong Wang from Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, and Zhuanxi Luo from Institute of Urban Environment for assistance with sampling.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guanshui Road 43, Guiyang, 550002, China

    Jinling Liu, Xinbin Feng, Wei Zhu & Runsheng Yin

  2. Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Jinling Liu, Wei Zhu & Runsheng Yin

  3. Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361005, China

    Xian Zhang

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  1. Jinling Liu
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  2. Xinbin Feng
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  3. Wei Zhu
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  4. Xian Zhang
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  5. Runsheng Yin
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Correspondence to Xinbin Feng.

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Responsible editor: Vera Slaveykova

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Liu, J., Feng, X., Zhu, W. et al. Spatial distribution and speciation of mercury and methyl mercury in the surface water of East River (Dongjiang) tributary of Pearl River Delta, South China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 105–112 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0542-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-011-0542-0

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