Chemosphere 64 (2006) 1845–1854 www.elsevier.com/locate/chemosphere Release flux of mercury from different environmental surfaces in Chongqing, China Dingyong Wang a,b,*, Lei He a, Xiaojun Shi a, Shiqiang Wei a,c, Xinbin Feng b a College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, PR China b State Key Lab of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, CA, Guiyang 550001, PR China c Chongqing Key Lab of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Chongqing 400716, PR China Received 7 July 2005; received in revised form 24 January 2006; accepted 24 January 2006 Available online 9 March 2006 Abstract An investigation was conducted to estimate mercury emission to the atmosphere from different environmental surfaces and to assess its contribution to the local mercury budget in Chongqing, China. Mercury flux was measured using dynamic flux chamber (DFC) at six soil sites of three different areas (mercury polluted area, farmland and woodland) and four water surfaces from August 2003 to April 2004. The mercury emission fluxes were 3.5 ± 1.2–8.4 ± 2.5 ng mÀ2 hÀ1 for three shaded forest sites, 85.8 ± 32.4 ng mÀ2 hÀ1 for farming field, 12.3 ± 9.8–733.8 ± 255 ng mÀ2 hÀ1 for grassland sites, and 5.9 ± 12.6–618.6 ± 339 ng mÀ2 hÀ1 for water surfaces. Mercury exchange fluxes were generally higher from air/water surfaces than from air/soil surfaces. The mercury negative fluxes were found in tow soil sites at overcast days (mean = À6.4 ± 1.5 ng mÀ2 hÀ1). The diurnal and seasonal variations of mercury flux were observed in all sites. The mer- cury emission responded positively to the solar radiation, but negatively to the relative humidity. The mercury flux from air/soil surfaces was significantly correlated with soil temperature, which was well described by an Arrhenius-type expression with activation energy of 31.1 kcal molÀ1. The annual mercury emission to the atmosphere from land surface is about 1.787 t of mercury in Chongqing. Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Atmosphere; Dynamic flux chamber; Flux; Mercury; Natural emission 1. Introduction fluxes from environmental surfaces (Schroeder, 1992; Kim and Lindberg, 1995; Kim et al., 1995; Gustin et al., As a global pollutant, mercury may be methylated in 1999). According to available literatures, natural mercury environment and accumulate in organisms, causing serious release from the land contributed about 10% of the total impacts on ecosystem. Atmospheric mercury plays an emitted mercury amount, while that from the ocean important role of global mercury pollution. It mainly accounted for about 30% of all (Nriagu, 1989; Lindqvist comes from anthropogenic and natural mercury emission et al., 1991). The main form of mercury released from nat- and it may enter the ocean and terrestrial ecosystems via ural sources is elemental mercury, which could stay for a wet and dry deposition again. So, it is important to under- relatively long period in the atmosphere. Therefore, the stand the emission and cycling of mercury. Research on mercury emission from land surfaces is considered to be biogeochemical cycle of mercury in recent years has been the major contributors of global atmospheric mercury mostly concentrated on assessment of mercury release (Nriagu, 1989; Lindqvist et al., 1991). However, amount of mercury released to the atmosphere from land surfaces is still under debate (Lindqvist et al., 1991). The global * Corresponding author. Address: College of Resources and Environ- ment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, PR China. Tel.: +86 23 biogeochemical cycle of mercury could be fully understood 6825 0484. only when the amount of mercury released from the E-mail address: [email protected] (D. Wang). natural sources is clarified. Mercury exchange flux over 0045-6535/$ - see front matter Ó 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2006.01.054 1846 D. Wang et al. / Chemosphere 64 (2006) 1845–1854 environmental surfaces is a key parameter to estimate glo- covered by a 2–4 cm thick of undecomposed hardwood leaf bal or regional mercury release, to understand and simulate litter. The GLSM site is dominated by privet and phoenix mercury recycling in different area, and to evaluate mer- tree (accounting for more than 60%) with a moderately- cury impacts on the environment as well (Rasmussen, closed canopy (>85%). There are also a few shrubs. The 1994; Fitzgerald et al., 1998; Gustin et al., 1999). soil at this site was Typic Purpli-Udic Cambosols, without In China, many studies on mercury pollution have been any deadwood on the surface. The JYSM site with a well- carried out previously. However, the mercury fluxes over closed canopy (>90%), dominated by broadleaf, is arbor in environmental surfaces were poorly understood. Here, we this area. The soil at this site is also Alliti-Perudic Ferro- measured mercury fluxes from different environmental sur- sols, with a 1–2.5 cm thick of undecomposed hardwood faces in Chongqing, China. Environmental factors affecting leaf litter. Two grassland sites are situated on the campus the exchange such as soil temperature, solar radiation, rela- of Southwest University (SWU) (29°480 N, 106°240 E), tive humidity and air temperature were also investigated. and at Weather Observation of Beibei (WOBB) (29°480 The contribution of mercury emission to the regional mer- N, 106°240 E). The soil at the SWU site is Typic Purpli- cury budget was estimated as well. Udic Cambosols completely covered by 5–8 cm tall grasses. The soil at the WOBB site is also Typic Purpli-Udic Cam- 2. Materials and methods bosols, which is surrounded by many factories (including clinical thermometer factory, glass factory, and pharmacy 2.1. Site description factory). The grass is about 2–5 cm tall. The farmland for the study is located at the experimental site of Southwest Six soil sites (three forests, two grasslands and one farm- University (29°480 N, 106°240 E), which is 250 m away land) were selected for this study. Three forest sites are from a highway. The soil is Typic Purpli-Udic Cambosols located at the Simianshan Mountain (SMSM) of Jiangjin with no crops planted. County (28°350 N, 106°260 E), the Geleshan Mountain Four water sites are all in Beibei, Chongqing. They (GLSM) of Shapingba District (29°340 N, 106°250 E), are located at the Jialing River (JLR) (29°500 N, 106°260 and the Jinyunshan Mountain (JYSM) of Beibei District E), the Longtanzi Reservoir (LTZR) (29°490 N, 106°240 (29°560 N, 106°220 E) (Fig. 1). The SMSM site is a hard- E), the Longfengxi Brook (LFXB) (29°490 N, 106°250 E), wood forest with a well-closed canopy (>95%), dominated and the pond of SWU (29°480 N, 106°240 E). The JLR by broadleaf. The soil at this site is Alliti-Perudic Ferrosols, site is 300 m upriver from a dock, and the water was clear Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of sampling sites. D. Wang et al. / Chemosphere 64 (2006) 1845–1854 1847 without any particles. The LTZR site is near the dam, chamber to LumexÒ Multifunctional mercury analyzer which is surrounded by farmland and house, and there RA-915+ (sampling flow rate = 20 l minÀ1, each air sam- are a factory and residential area in its upriver area. pling time = 5 min). Both inlet (Ci) and outlet (Co) mercury Because industry wastewater and sewage were released to concentrations were continuously monitored alternatively the reservoir, the water was not clear and had obvious by the RA-915+ automated mercury analyzer. A 10 min particles. The Longfengxi Brook is a branch of the Jialing average of Co (two 5 min samples) and a 10 min-average River, the LFXB site is about 1000 m far away the of Ci (two 5-min samples) were used to obtain a 20 min debouchment. The water in the SWU pond was muddy averaged Hg flux (F) from Eq. (1) (Lindberg and Price, and dark. 1999; Zhang et al., 2001): ðC À C ÞQ 2.2. Measurement methods F ¼ o i ð1Þ A À2 À1 2.2.1. Technique for mercury flux measurement where F is the flux (ng m h ), Ci and Co are total gas A schematic diagram of a dynamic flux chamber (DFC) mercury (TGM) concentrations of the DFC inlet and out- with the LumexÒ Multifunctional mercury analyzer RA- let in ng mÀ3, respectively. Q is flushing flow rate through 915+ (operated by CVAAS plus Zeeman Correction, the chamber in m3 hÀ1 (1.2 m3 hÀ1 for these measure- 1-Hz data stream) is given in Fig. 2. The flux chamber ments), A is area of the open bottom surface of the dimension of 20 · 20 · 60 cm (Xiao et al., 1991) with a chamber. removable bottom plate was constructed with 5 mm thick The chamber blanks were measured in laboratory and Plexiglas, and its volume was 0.024 m3. The Plexiglas was field, before and after the flux measurements. The labora- chosen because of its low achievable chamber blank and tory blanks (n = 10), obtained by measuring the mercury transparency to light. Its transparency allows good pene- flux over a clean Plexiglas sheet, were in the range of 1.2– tration of solar radiation, which is responsible for the for- 2.1 ng mÀ2 hÀ1. The field blanks (n = 32), obtained before mation of photo-induced gaseous mercury in water or soil. and after the flux measurements at each sampling site, When placed on a surface for flux measurements, the bot- ranged from 1.1 to 2.3 ng mÀ2 hÀ1, with an average of tom plate of the chamber is removed to allow mercury to 1.33 ± 0.31 ng mÀ3.