Search results for "Mercury"
showing 10 items of 396 documents
Mercury fluxes from volcanic and geothermal sources: An update
2015
OVSICORI, IAMC-CNR We review the state of knowledge on global volcanogenic Hg emissions to the atmosphere and present new data from seven active volcanoes (Poás, Rincón de la Vieja, Turrialba, Aso, Mutnovsky, Gorely and Etna) and two geothermal fields (Las Pailas and Las Hornillas). The variability of Hg contents (c. 4-125 ng m-3) measured in gaseous emissions reflects the dynamic nature of volcanic plumes, where the abundances of volatiles are determined by the physical nature of degassing and variable air dilution. Based on our dataset and previous work, we propose that an average Hg/SO2 plume mass ratio of c. 7.8 × 10-6 (± 1.5 × 10-6; 1 SE, n = 13) is best representative of open-conduit …
The Influence of Floodplains on Mercury Availability
2009
The floodplains of the German river Elbe affect the mercury distribution in the river system in two different ways: they act both as a medium-term sink and as a long-term source. The large amounts of mercury deposited onto the floodplains during annual floodings are first effectively fixed in the soils, rendering them basically unavailable. Sequential extraction experiments reveal that only a small fraction of the mercury (< 3%) is present in available forms, whereas the vast majority is associated with humic substances or present in sulfidic binding forms. After deposition, a small fraction of the total mercury is gradually remobilized into the aqueous phase bound passively to water-solubl…
Real-time simultaneous detection of volcanic Hg and SO2at La Fossa Crater, Vulcano (Aeolian Islands, Sicily)
2007
Measuring Hg/SO2 ratios in volcanic emissions is essential for better apportioning the volcanic contribution to the global Hg atmospheric cycle. Here, we report the first real-time simultaneous measurement of Hg and SO2 in a volcanic plume, based on Lumex and MultiGAS techniques, respectively. We demonstrate that the use of these novel techniques allows the measurements of Hg/SO2 ratios with a far better time resolution than possible with more conventional methods. The Hg/SO2 ratio in the plume of FO fumarole on La Fossa Crater, Vulcano Island spanned an order of magnitude over a 30 minute monitoring period, but was on average in qualitative agreement with the Hg/SO2 ratio directly measured…
Do Volcanic Eruptions Solve Global Atmospheric Mercury Pollution?
2011
Besides human activities, volcanoes also introduce significant quantities of potentially harmful chemical compounds into the environment, mainly in the forms of gases and particles. High-temperature emissions from persistently degassing volcanoes are a known source of trace metal emissions to the atmosphere which may have important environmental consequences. Among these metals, mercury (Hg) is of particular interest since it is a toxic volatile metal found at elevated concentrations in remote regions of the world. Many natural Hg pathways include a recycled component of anthropogenic material. The anthropogenic contribution to the global atmospheric Hg budget is now well constrained, with …
Plume chemistry and potential impacts of the plume from the recent activity at Halema’uma’u, Kilauea, USA.
2009
Since the 19 March 2008 explosion within Halema‘uma‘u that formed the new vent at Kilauea’s summit, degassing rates have been greatly elevated above the levels typical of previous years. The location and subsequent dispersion of this new degassing presents its own specific problems compared to that in the east rift zone. For example, throughout 2008 the Halema’uma’u plume was generally blown through the Kau desert, directly affecting downwind communities. In this study we present measurements made in July and halogens (HF, HCl, HBr and HI) in the new 2008. We characterize the gas chemistry in terms of SO 2 plume from Halema’uma’u in order to compare them with other plumes worldwide, includi…
Shape coexistence in neutron-deficient Hg isotopes studied via lifetime measurements in Hg-184,Hg-186 and two-state mixing calculations
2014
Abstract: The neutron-deficient mercury isotopes, 184 , 186 Hg, were studied with the recoil distance Doppler-shift method using the Gammasphere array and the K ̈ oln plunger device. The differential decay curve method was employed to determine the lifetimes of the yrast states in 184 , 186 Hg. An improvement on previously measured values of yrast states up to 8 + is presented as well as first values for the 9 3 state in 184 Hg and 10 + state in 186 Hg. B ( E 2) values are calculated and compared to a two-state mixing model which utilizes the variable moment of inertia model, allowing for extraction of spin-dependent mixing strengths and amplitudes. peerReviewed
Literature survey of on-line elemental speciation in aqueous solutions.
2001
The literature about the on-line speciation in water has been comprehensively studied. Critical examination of this subject reveals that a great deal of work has been performed in this area for inorganic metal species and some organic compounds. The topic studied mainly includes the speciation of chromium, selenium, copper, arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, iron, aluminium, nickel, tin, antimony, phosphorus, nitrogen and others. The present literature survey includes also comments about the possibilities and problems of speciation as a function of analytical steps, general strategies involved and methods proposed in the literature for each element or a series of elements.
A measurement of the neutron to 199Hg magnetic moment ratio
2014
The neutron gyromagnetic ratio has been measured relative to that of the 199Hg atom with an uncertainty of 0.8 ppm. We employed an apparatus where ultracold neutrons and mercury atoms are stored in the same volume and report the result γn/γHg=3.8424574(30).
Fast and accurate methodology for direct mercury determination in hair and nails
2015
AbstractA solvent-free, easy, fast and waste-free methodology was developed for the determination of total mercury levels in hair and nails. Samples were taken from several volunteers and directly analysed, with levels of mercury in the range between 0.5 and 8 ng/mg. The influence of quantity of hair, as well as the addition of small amount of solvent and the necessity of previous treatment were studied. Also, a history of mercury exposure was provided by the distance of the hair from the scalp of each volunteer, the results of which were correlated with fish consumption. Furthermore, a short study of mercury in nails was carried out and correlated to the results from hair mercury levels. A…
Halogens and trace metal emissions from the ongoing 2008 summit eruption of Kīlauea volcano, Hawai`i
2012
Volcanic plume samples taken in 2008 and 2009 from the Halemàumàu eruption at Kīlauea provide new insights into Kīlauea's degassing behaviour. The Cl, F and S gas systematics are consistent with syn-eruptive East Rift Zone measurements suggesting that the new Halemàumàu activity is fed by a convecting magma reservoir shallower than the main summit storage area. Comparison with degassing models suggests that plume halogen and S composition is controlled by very shallow (<3m depth) decompression degassing and progressive loss of volatiles at the surface. Compared to most other global volcanoes, Kīlauea's gases are depleted in Cl with respect to S. Similarly, our Br/S and I/S ratio measurem…