Demystifying mercury geochemistry in contaminated soil–groundwater systems with complementary mercury stable isotope, concentration, and speciation analyses
David S. McLagan, Lorenz Schwab, Jan G. Wiederhold, L. Chen, Jan Pietrucha, Stephan M. Kraemer, Harald Biester
Abstract
processes. While we caution against the non-critical use of Hg isotope data for source tracing in environmental systems, due to potentially variable source signatures and overprinting by transformation processes, our study demonstrates the benefits of combining multiple analytical approaches, including Hg isotope ratios as a process tracer, to obtain an improved picture of the enigmatic geochemical behavior and fate of Hg at contaminated legacy sites.
Topics & Concepts
Mercury (programming language)Environmental chemistryGroundwaterChemistryStable isotope ratioIsotopeSorptionIsotope geochemistryTRACERGeologyAdsorptionOrganic chemistryProgramming languageGeotechnical engineeringPhysicsComputer scienceQuantum mechanicsNuclear physicsMercury impact and mitigation studiesHeavy metals in environmentHeavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity