Demystifying mercury geochemistry in contaminated soil-groundwater systems with complementary mercury stable isotope, concentration, and speciation analyses.

ABSTRACT: Interpretation of mercury (Hg) geochemistry in environmental systems remains a challenge. This is largely associated with the inability to identify specific Hg transformation processes and species using established analytical methods in Hg geochemistry (total Hg and Hg speciation). In this study, we demonstrate the improved Hg geochemical interpretation, particularly related to process tracing, that can be achieved when Hg stable isotope analyses are complemented by a suite of more established methods and applied to both solid- (soil) and liquid-phases (groundwater) across two Hg²⁺-chloride (HgCl₂) contaminated sites with distinct geological and physicochemical properties. This novel approach allowed us to identify processes such as Hg²⁺ (i.e., HgCl<

SUBMITTER: McLagan DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9491299 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature