Recent advances in understanding and measurement of mercury in the environment: Terrestrial Hg cycling

Bishop, Kevin; Shanley, James B.; Riscassi, Ami L.; Wit, Heleen de; Eklöf, Karin; Meng, Bo; Mitchell, Carl P. J.; Osterwalder, Stefan; Schuster, Paul F.; Webster, Jackson P.; Zhu, Wei

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.137647

Cited by 120 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 365 publications

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“…The bidirectional exchange of Hg between the atmosphere and terrestrial surfaces is better understood because of advancements in research that are primarily associated with the interpretation from Hg isotopes, and the latest estimates place land surface Hg re-emission at values lower than previously thought [91].…”

Section: Exchange Of Mercury Between Atmospheric and Terrestrial Ecosmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

2020

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Background Environmental contamination by mercury is and will continue to be a serious risk for human health. Pollution of the terrestrial environment is particularly important as it is a place of human life and food production. This publication presents a review of the literature on issues related to mercury pollution of the terrestrial environment: soil and plants and their transformations. Results Different forms of atmospheric Hg may be deposited on surfaces by way of wet and dry processes. These forms may be sequestered within terrestrial compartments or emitted back into the atmosphere, and the relative importance of these processes is dependent on the form of Hg, the surface chemistry, and the environmental conditions. On the land surface, Hg deposition mainly occurs in the oxidized form (Hg2+), and its transformations are associated primarily with the oxidation–reduction potential of the environment and the biological and chemical processes of methylation. The deposition of Hg pollutants on the ground with low vegetation is as 3–5 times lower than that in forests. The estimation of Hg emissions from soil and plants, which occur mainly in the Hg0 form, is very difficult. Generally, the largest amounts of Hg are emitted from tropical regions, followed by the temperate zone, and the lowest levels are from the polar regions. Areas with vegetation can be ranked according to the size of the emissions as follows: forests > other areas (tundra, savannas, and chaparral) > agricultural areas > grassland ecosystems; areas of land devoid of vegetation emit more Hg than those with plants. In areas with high pollution, such as areas near Hg mines, the Hg content in soil and plants is much higher than in other areas. Conclusions Mercury is recognized as a toxic, persistent, and mobile contaminant; it does not degrade in the environment and becomes mobile because of the volatility of the element and several of its compounds. Atmospheric contamination by mercury continues to be one of the most important environmental problems in the modern world. The general conclusions were drawn from a review of the literature and presented in this paper.

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Section: Exchange Of Mercury Between Atmospheric and Terrestrial Ecosmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Meng et al [98] showed that rice had high affinity for methyl-Hg and that the concentrations in rice seeds may be 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher in Hg mining sites than in other local edible crop plants. Freshly deposited Hg is more likely to methylate and be incorporated in rice than stored Hg [91].…”

Section: Referencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

2020

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“…Although this in some respects appears to succumb to the very limitations that we have identified above, the processes in the catchment that are the very controls on some of the issues highlighted in this review, along with the critical role of the aquatic food web in regulating MeHg bioaccumulation and biomagnification, cannot be adequately addressed in a single paper. Recent advances in the understanding of withincatchment processes regulating Hg supply and speciation are reviewed in this special issue (Bishop et al, 2020). Lake trophic structure, species assemblage (from benthic meso-macro invertebrates to top piscivorous fishes), primary productivity, and other factors affecting bioaccumulation and biomagnification like fish growth rates and age structure, are at least equally as important as the supply of MeHg in predicting the MeHg concentrations of aquatic organisms, and are also reviewed in this special issue (Chételat et al, 2020).…”

Section: Current View Of the Mercury Cycling In Freshwater Lakes And mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mercury cycling in freshwater systems - An updated conceptual model

Branfireun

Cosio

Poulain

et al. 2020

Science of The Total Environment

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“…Meng et al [107] showed that rice had high affinity for methyl-Hg and that the concentrations in rice seeds may be 2 to 3 orders of magnitude higher in Hg mining sites than in other local edible crop plants. Freshly deposited Hg is more likely to methylate and be incorporated in rice than stored Hg [100].…”

Section: Methylmercurymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…High light transmittance can enhance soil TGM emission rates and increase the magnitude of diurnal variations in soil-air TGM exchange fluxes. The estimated annual average soil-air TGM exchange flux was 5.46±21.69 ng m −2 h −1 in corn-wheat rotation cropland with 30 cm row spacing[98][99].The bidirectional exchange of Hg between the atmosphere and terrestrial surfaces is better understood because of advancements in research that are primarily associated with the interpretation from Hg isotopes, and the latest estimates place land surface Hg reemission at values lower than previously thought[100].…”

mentioning

confidence: 96%

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

Gworek¹,

Dmuchowski²,

Baczewska-Dąbrowska

2020

Preprint

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Environmental contamination by mercury is and will continue to be a serious risk for human health. Pollution of the terrestrial environment is particularly important as it is a place of human life and food production. Publication presents a review of the literature on issues related to Hg pollution of the terrestrial environment: soil and plants and their transformations. Different forms of atmospheric Hg may be deposited on surfaces by way of wet and dry processes. These forms may be sequestered within terrestrial compartments or emitted back into the atmosphere, and the relative importance of these processes is dependent on the form of Hg, the surface chemistry, and the environmental conditions. On the land surface, Hg deposition mainly occurs in the oxidized form (Hg 2+ ), and its transformations are associated primarily with the oxidation-reduction potential of the environment and the biological and chemical processes of methylation. The deposition of Hg on ground with low vegetation as 3–5 times lower than that in forests. The estimation of Hg emissions from soil and plants, which occur mainly in the Hg 0 form, is very difficult. Generally, the largest amounts of Hg are emitted from tropical regions, and the lowest levels are from the polar regions.

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Recent advances in understanding and measurement of mercury in the environment: Terrestrial Hg cycling

Cited by 120 publications

References 365 publications

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

Mercury cycling in freshwater systems - An updated conceptual model

Mercury in the terrestrial environment: a review

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