Abstract
Knowledge of the natural emissions of mercury in the Mediterranean basin, which has largecinnabar anomalies, has particular weight as these deposits could be an important source ofatmospheric mercury. Data on the degassing rate of mercury from soils sampled both inmineralized 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 thegaseous mercury on gold collectors. The highest values were observed in Almaden over theroasted cinnabar banks (up to 100 µg/m2h) from past and present mining activity. In Italianrural areas the values of the volatilization rate of mercury are on the order of few ng/m2h. Thedegassing rate was observed to be strongly dependent on the ambient temperature and not onlyseasonal 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 Pollution 93, 59–66 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022107205659
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022107205659