Distribution and Controlling Factors of Dissolved Gaseous Mercury and Reactive Mercury in Seawater Near Yangtze River Estuary

Complex hydrocultural conditions in the estuary affect the migration and transformation of mercury.Using two voyages in July and October 2018,Dissolved Gaseous Mercury(DGM)and Reactive Mercury(RHg)were determined to explore the source,transformation and influence of DGM content in the adjacent waters of Yangtze River Estuary in summer and autumn.The results showed the contents of DGM and RHg in summer were higher than those in autumn,and both of them were higher than those in open sea.In summer and autumn,the Yangtze River brought a higher concentration of DGM,and different flow direction and runoff resulted in differences in the high value region of the surface.The emergence of low-oxygen zones in summer was conducive to the production of DGM.In autumn,windy weather allowed seawater disturbances to promote the release of mercury from the underlying sediments,especially in shallow sea in northwest.RHg showed a higher concentration in the offshore than in the open sea in summer,but there was no such trend in autumn,reflecting the influence of less runoff input.DGM is the main product of RHg reduction,and there was a significant positive correlation between DGM and RHg in summer(r=0.356,P<0.05),while the correlation between DGM and RHg was not significant in autumn due to the influence of light intensity,wind speed and nutrients.The exchange flux of mercury in the adjacent waters of the Yangtze River Estuary was higher than that in the open sea.There was no significant difference of the release flux of mercury in summer and autumn.This article highlighted that the input of mercury from the Yangtze River runoff promotes the release of mercury in seawater,and the hypoxic zone caused by eutrophication is conducive to the production of DGM.

Spatial Differences and Influencing Factors of Dissolved Gaseous Mercury in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea in Spring

From 28 March to 17 April, 2018, different forms of mercury(Hg) in the Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea were measured to study the influencing factors on the distribution and transformation of Hg in spring using a shared cruise. The mean concentration of dissolved gaseous mercury(DGM) in the surface water of the Yellow and Bohai Seas was(44.3 ± 43.9) pg/L, which was close to that in mid-latitude oceans and deep seas. The ratio of DGM to THg(total mercury) was lower than in the oceans and in the Yellow and Bohai Seas in summer or fall. DGM concentrations in surface water were highest in the central part of the South Yellow Sea and were higher than those in the Bohai Sea, and their spatial distributions were consistent with RHg(reactive mercury). DGM and RHg correlated positively with water temperature in surface seawater(r = 0.506, P < 0.01;r = 0.278, P < 0.05). The concentrations of both DGM and RHg in surface water were controlled by solar radiation and water temperature. Foggy weather did not benefit the production of DGM and RHg. DGM in the bottom seawater was mainly affected by Dissolved Oxygen and water temperature(r =-0.366, P < 0.01;r = 0.331, P < 0.01), produced mainly by anaerobic reactions of the bottom seawater and sediment microorganisms. The bottom DGM concentrations in the Yellow and Bohai Seas were the highest, and DGM produced in bottom seawater and sediment plays a more important role than the surface water in spring. The concentrations of DGM and RHg in the surface and bottom water in the South Yellow Sea were all higher than those in the middle layer. Vertical variations in the North Yellow Sea and the Bohai Sea were small. The production and distribution of DGM and RHg were influenced by differences of latitude and by the Yellow Sea warm current in spring.