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Estimating Gaseous Mercury Emissions from Contaminated Floodplain Soils to the Atmosphere with Simple Field Measurement Techniques

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Abstract

The atmospheric emission of mercury (Hg) from a contaminatedwetlands system was studied in the floodplains along the riverElbe (Northern Germany). Results suggest that wetlands can beimportant transformation and phase transfer regions, linking theterrestrial, aquatic and atmospheric compartments of regionalbiogeochemical Hg cycles. Fluxes determined by flux chambermeasurements averaged 43 ± 5 ng m-2 h-1. Additionally,soil gas probe sampling was introduced to determine mercuryconcentrations in soil air. This technique shows some promise fordetecting and confining mercury contamination in soils. We alsopropose that measurements of total gaseous mercury (TGM) in soilair and the near-surface atmosphere, in combination with simplesoil physical parameters, may be suitable for calculatingsemiquantitative estimates of Hg evaporation from contaminatedsoils, based on laminar diffusion considerations. The results arecompared to other Hg flux measurements, and the advantages anddisadvantages of different approaches to quantify Hg emissionsfrom soils are discussed, especially with regard to possiblesystematic bias.

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Author notes

  1. Dirk Wallschläger

    Present address: Frontier Geosciences, 414 Pontius Ave N, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA.

  2. Rolf-Dieter Wilken

    Present address: Institute of Geosciences, Chair of Applied Hydrochemistry, Johannes-Gutenberg-University, Johannes-Joachim-Becher-Weg 21, 55099, Mainz, Germany

Authors and Affiliations

  1. GKSS Research Center, Institute of Physical and Chemical Analytics, Max-Planck-Str., 21502, Geesthacht, Germany

    Dirk Wallschläger, Hans Herbert Kock & Ralf Ebinghaus

  2. Environment Canada, Atmospheric Environment Service, 4905 Dufferin Street, Downsview, Ontario, M3H 5T4, Canada

    William H. Schroeder

  3. Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Building 1505, P. O. Box 2008, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, 37831-6038, U.S.A

    Steven E. Lindberg

  4. ESWE-Institute for Water Research and Water Technology, Söhnleinstr. 158, 65201, Wiesbaden-Schierstein, Germany

    Rolf-Dieter Wilken

Authors
  1. Dirk Wallschläger
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  2. Hans Herbert Kock
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  3. William H. Schroeder
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  4. Steven E. Lindberg
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  6. Rolf-Dieter Wilken
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Correspondence to Dirk Wallschläger.

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Wallschläger, D., Kock, H.H., Schroeder, W.H. et al. Estimating Gaseous Mercury Emissions from Contaminated Floodplain Soils to the Atmosphere with Simple Field Measurement Techniques. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 135, 39–54 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014711831589

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1014711831589

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