Abstract
Mercury is the principal metal emitted in vapour form by volcanoes and other natural geothermal sources. Direct evidence for the release of mercury at volcanic, fumarolic and hydrothermal sites has been obtained in Hawaii, Iceland, Antarctica and the Pacific north-west1–6, and the relationship of mercury to volcanic activity elsewhere has been inferred from the analysis of indicator plants7,8. The relation of volcanogenic mercury to total atmospheric content has been a matter of some uncertainty. From 1971 to 1980, mercury and sulphur dioxide analyses were carried out on air samples collected immediately downwind of Halemaumau, the Kilauea main vent, in Hawaii. From these measurements, a Hg/SO2 ratio of 0.51 × 10−3 was derived. As reported here, applying this ratio to the recently determined sulphur dioxide mass output of Halemaumau, yields a calculated mercury flux of 2.6 × 108g annually. This value is consistent with recent evidence6 suggesting that volcanogenic mercury contributes significantly to the atmospheric total.
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Siegel, S., Siegel, B. First estimate of annual mercury flux at the Kilauea main vent. Nature 309, 146–147 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/309146a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/309146a0
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