Behaviour of Hg species in a microtidal deltaic system: The Isonzo River mouth (northern Adriatic Sea)

Covelli, Stefano; Piani, Raffaella; Kotnik, Jože; Horvat, Milena; Faganeli, Jadran; Brambati, A.

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.09.089

Cited by 56 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Because most roasted ore remains were dumped into the Idrijca riverbed, the contents of mercury in the sediments of Idrijca and Soča rivers (Gosar 1992(Gosar , 1997Gosar et al 1997b;Biester et al 2000) and also in marine sediments at the mouth of the Soča river (Kosta et al 1974;Horvat et al 1999;Biester et al 2000;Covelli et al 1999Covelli et al , 2001Covelli et al , 2006Covelli et al , 2007 are increased.…”

Section: Investigations Of Mercury In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High waters deposited mercury-rich material on the floodplains in the lower part of the Idrijca and Soča River valleys, building thus a large accumulation of mercury-enriched sediments (Ž ibret and Gosar 2006;Gosar 2008). Hg-enriched marine sediments have also been found in the Gulf of Trieste (Covelli et al , 2001(Covelli et al , 2006(Covelli et al , 2007Horvat et al 1999Horvat et al , 2003Biester et al 2000;Hines et al 2000Hines et al , 2006Faganeli et al 2003). Mercury was brought far into the Idrija surrounding areas also through atmospheric emissions of the new big rotary kiln chimney.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Environmental geochemistry studies in the area of Idrija mercury mine, Slovenia

Gosar

Teršič

2011

Environ Geochem Health

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Five centuries of mining and processing of mercury ore in the Idrija area have resulted in widespread contamination of different environmental compartments. Environmental impacts on a regional and local scale, caused by atmospheric emissions from the Idrija ore roasting plant, were established in the investigations of mercury spatial distribution in soil and attic dust in 160 km(2) area. Very high values were determined in the Idrijca River valley, and they decrease exponentially with the distance from Idrija. Mercury concentrations in attic dust are higher than in surrounding soils and the attic dust/soil ratio changes with distance. Measurements of mercury in the air confirmed widespread dispersion of mercury and showed highly elevated mercury concentrations around roasting plant and mine ventilation shaft. Beside, systematic monitoring of mercury contents in the stream sediments has demonstrated that huge amounts of mercury are stored in areas where ancient overbank sediments were deposited, and there was no decrease in mercury concentration in active sediments during the last 15 years. Recently, interesting and extremely polluted locations of historical small-scale roasting sites in the Idrija surroundings were discovered. Ongoing geochemical study aims to determine the extreme pollution and significance of these sites for wider contamination of soils and aquatic systems. Presented studies have shown that Hg mining in Idrija caused intense pollution of local and regional environment including the aquatic systems in the Gulf of Trieste, which is seen as the final sink of a major part of the Hg stored in soils and river sediments in the Idrija area.

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Section: Investigations Of Mercury In Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental geochemistry studies in the area of Idrija mercury mine, Slovenia

Gosar

Teršič

2011

Environ Geochem Health

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“…There are also complex factors involved in controlling the partitioning of PAHs in the sedimentary C org . For example the Isonzo river mouth is acting as a 'biogeochemical reactor' including various microbial processes, flocculation, sedimentation and resuspension (Covelli, Piani, Faganeli, & Brambati, 2004) that influence the distribution of PAHs in sedimentary C org . However, both substances are associated with the fine fraction, mostly riverborne clayey and silty particles, in surficial sediments of the Gulf of Trieste (Notar et al, 2001;Ogrinc et al, 2005).…”

Section: Distribution Of Pahsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sedimentary Record of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Trieste (Northern Adriatic Sea)

Heath

Ogrinc

Faganeli

et al. 2006

Water Air Soil Pollut: Focus

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To reconstruct a history of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in the Gulf of Trieste, one of the largest urbanized areas in the Adriatic Sea, we analyzed three long sediment cores collected between 1996 and 1997. Concentrations of total PAHs, the sum of 16 PAH compounds and six of their methylated analogues, in all three cores show a decrease from 600-800 ng g −1 , at the surface, to levels below 250 ng g −1 in deepest layers (down to 3 m). The same trend was shown with separate representative pyrogenic PAHs (pyrene, benzofluoranthene and phenanthrene). Using Hg as a recent geochronological tracer, we observe an increasing input of PAHs since the beginning of the 20th Century and, especially, after the Second World War coinciding with increasing industrialization and urbanization of the region. This correlation is supported by PAH ratios that are indication of combustion processes and represent a marker for anthropogenic inputs. No correlation exists between PAHs and black carbon within the core profiles, indicating two different fractions of the 'black carbon continuum'.

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“…Additional alluvial sediment profiles were made in 2005 that allowed the estimation of accumulated Hg in the alluvial sediments of the Idrijca River downstream of Idrija (Žibret and Gosar, 2006). After the confluence of the Idrijca River with the Soča River, the further fate of Hg has been studied in the Soča River estuary (Covelli et al, 2006b). This study demonstrated that the transport of Hg is highly effective during high river flows, and that the methylation process is most active during a low river discharge, mainly in summer.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, after rain polluted material is still washed downstream. The consequence is extensive contamination of the floodplains downstream of Idrija, floodplains of the Soča River and sediments in the Gulf of Trieste and surrounding lagoons (Covelli et al, 2006b;Covelli et al, 2007;Covelli et al, 2006a;Foucher et al, 2009;Horvat et al, 2002;Piani et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%