Abstract. China disposes of bulk Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) by landfilling, resulting in a large quantity of mercury that enters landfills through waste. A detailed study on atmospheric mercury emissions from MSW landfills in China is necessary to understand mercury behavior from this source. Between 2003 and 2006, mercury airborne emissions through different pathways, as well as mercury speciation in Landfill Gas (LFG) were measured at 5 MSW landfills in Guiyang and Wuhan, China. The results showed that mercury content in the substrate increased the magnitude of mercury emissions, with the highest emission rate measured at the working face and in uncovered waste areas, and the lowest measured near soil covers and vegetated areas. Meteorological parameters, especially solar radiation, influenced the diurnal pattern of mercury surface-air emissions. Total Gaseous Mercury (TGM) in LFG varied from 2.0 to 1406.0 ng m −3 , Monomethyl Mercury (MMHg) and Dimethyl Mercury (DMHg) in LFG averaged at 1.93 and 9.21 ng m −3 , and accounted for 0.51% and 1.79% of the TGM in the LFG, respectively. Total mercury emitted from the five landfills ranged from 17 to 3300 g yr −1 , with the highest from the working face, then soil covering, and finally the vent pipes.

Human consumption of rice constitutes a potential toxicological risk in mercury (Hg) polluted areas such as Hg mining regions in China. It is recognized to be an important source of Hg for the local human diet considering the efficient bioaccumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in rice seed. To assess Hg sources and uptake pathways to the rice plants, Hg speciation and isotopic composition were investigated in rice seeds and their corresponding paddy soils from different locations within the Wanshan Hg mining area (Guizhou Province, China). A large variation of Hg speciation is observed in rice seeds and paddy soils irrespective of the sampling location. Mass dependent fractionation (MDF) of Hg in rice seeds differs by up to ∼4.0 ‰ in d 202Hg values, while mass independent fractionation (MIF) of Hg isotopes remains constant (D 199 Hg ∼ 0‰). Hg isotopic composition in rice seeds covaries with that of paddy soils but exhibits lighter isotopic signature (d 202 Hg). Such isotopic offset is mainly attributed to plant uptake and translocation processes. Also, seeds containing higher MeHg (MeHg/total Hg > 50%) have significantly heavier Hg isotopes suggesting that MeHg uptake and transport to the seed in such rice plants is facilitated compared to inorganic Hg.

The shape of the $$ {B}_s^0\to {D}_s^{\ast -}{\mu}^{+}{\nu}_{\mu } $$ B s 0 → D s ∗ − μ + ν μ differential decay rate is obtained as a function of the hadron recoil parameter using proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.7 fb−1 collected by the LHCb detector. The $$ {B}_s^0\to {D}_s^{\ast -}{\mu}^{+}{\nu}_{\mu } $$ B s 0 → D s ∗ − μ + ν μ decay is reconstructed through the decays $$ {D}_s^{\ast -}\to {D}_s^{-}\gamma $$ D s ∗ − → D s − γ and $$ {D}_s^{-}\to {K}^{-}{K}^{+}{\pi}^{-} $$ D s − → K − K + π − . The differential decay rate is fitted with the Caprini-Lellouch-Neubert (CLN) and Boyd-Grinstein-Lebed (BGL) parametrisations of the form factors, and the relevant quantities for both are extracted.