Abstract
Knowledge of the natural emissions of mercury in the Mediterranean basin, which has large cinnabar anomalies, has particular weight as these deposits could be an important source of atmospheric mercury. Data on the degassing rate of mercury from soils sampled both in mineralized areas (Mt. Amiata, Italy and Almaden, Spain) and rural areas are reported. Measurements were carried out ‘in situ’ using a transparent flux chamber and collecting the gaseous mercury on gold collectors. The highest values were observed in Almaden over the roasted cinnabar banks (up to 100μg/m2h) from past and present mining activity. In Italian rural areas the values of the volatilization rate of mercury are on the order of few ng/m2h. The degassing rate was observed to be strongly dependent on the ambient temperature and not only seasonal but also daily variations were measured in all the studied areas.
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Ferrara, R., Maserti, B.E., Andersson, M. et al. Mercury degassing rate from mineralized areas in the Mediterranean basin. Water Air Soil Pollut 93, 59–66 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02404747
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02404747