Vertical profile measurements of soil air suggest immobilization of gaseous elemental mercury in mineral soil

Evasion of gaseous elemental Hg (Hg(0)g) from soil surfaces is an important source of atmospheric Hg, but the volatility and solid-gas phase partitioning of Hg(0) within soils is poorly understood. We developed a novel system to continuously measure Hg(0)g concentrations in soil pores at multiple depths and locations, and present a total of 297 days of measurements spanning 14 months in two forests in the Sierra Nevada mountains, California, U.S. Temporal patterns showed consistent pore Hg(0)g concentrations below levels measured in the atmosphere (termed Hg(0)g immobilization), ranging from 66 to 94% below atmospheric concentrations throughout multiple seasons. The lowest pore Hg(0)g concentrations were observed in the deepest soil layers (40 cm), but significant immobilization was already present in the top 7 cm. In the absence of sinks or sources, pore Hg(0)g levels would be in equilibrium with atmospheric concentrations due to the porous nature of the soil matrix and gas diffusion. Therefore, we explain decreases in pore Hg(0)g in mineral soils below atmospheric concentrations--or below levels found in upper soils as observed in previous studies--with the presence of an Hg(0)g sink in mineral soils possibly related to Hg(0)g oxidation or other processes such as sorption or dissolution in soil water. Surface chamber measurements showing daytime Hg(0)g emissions and nighttime Hg(0)g deposition indicate that near-surface layers likely dominate net atmospheric Hg(0)g exchange resulting in typical diurnal cycles due to photochemcial reduction at the surface and possibly Hg(0)g evasion from litter layers. In contrast, mineral soils seem to be decoupled from this surface exchange, showing consistent Hg(0)g uptake and downward redistribution--although our calculations indicate these fluxes to be minor compared to other mass fluxes. A major implication is that once Hg is incorporated into mineral soils, it may be unlikely subjected to renewed Hg(0)g re-emission from undisturbed, background soils emphasizing the important role of soils in sequestering past and current Hg pollution loads.

Investigation of factors affecting gaseous mercury concentrations in soils

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of soil temperature, soil moisture, redox potential (Eh) and soil organic matter (SOM) on the total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentrations in background soils. Our measurements were made in a grass field and deciduous forest at the Piney Reservoir Ambient Air Monitoring Station (PRAAMS) in Garrett County, Maryland. Three plots in each area were sampled every third week from July 2009 to June 2010 at the Oe-A soil horizon interface, the A-E soil horizon interface, and 5 and 10 cm into the E soil horizon. The mean soil TGM concentration for all depths in the forest (2.3 ± 2.2 ng m(-3)) was significantly higher than the mean soil TGM concentration in the grass field (1.5 ± 1.9 ng m(-3)). Soil TGM at all depths was most strongly and consistently correlated to soil temperature. The soil TGM concentrations were highest and most variable at the forest Oe-A soil horizon interface (4.1 ± 2.0 ng m(-3)), ranging from 1.5 to 8.4 ng m(-3). This soil horizon interface had 11 to 26% more SOM and the soil Eh was 100 to 400 mV lower than the other soil depths. Our results suggest that soil temperature, soil Eh and SOM are significant factors affecting TGM concentrations in forest soils. Future studies of TGM dynamics in background soils may benefit from closely monitoring the organic soil horizon.

Atmospheric mercury exchange with a tallgrass prairie ecosystem housed in mesocosms

This study focused on characterizing air-surface mercury Hg exchange for individual surfaces (soil, litter-covered soil and plant shoots) and ecosystem-level flux associated with tallgrass prairie ecosystems housed inside large mesocosms over three years. The major objectives of this project were to determine if individual surface fluxes could be combined to predict ecosystem-level exchange and if this low-Hg containing ecosystem was a net source or sink for atmospheric Hg. Data collected in the field were used to validate fluxes obtained in the mesocosm setting. Because of the controlled experimental design and ease of access to the mesocosms, data collected allowed for assessment of factors controlling flux and comparison of models developed for soil Hg flux versus environmental conditions at different temporal resolution (hourly, daily and monthly). Evaluation of hourly data showed that relationships between soil Hg flux and environmental conditions changed over time, and that there were interactions between parameters controlling exchange. Data analyses demonstrated that to estimate soil flux over broad temporal scales (e.g. annual flux) coarse-resolution data (monthly averages) are needed. Plant foliage was a sink for atmospheric Hg with uptake influenced by plant functional type and age. Individual system component fluxes (bare soil and plant) could not be directly combined to predict the measured whole system flux (soil, litter and plant). Emissions of Hg from vegetated and litter-covered soil were lower than fluxes from adjacent bare soil and the difference between the two was seasonally dependent and greatest when canopy coverage was greatest. Thus, an index of plant canopy development (canopy greenness) was used to model Hg flux from vegetated soil. Accounting for ecosystem Hg inputs (precipitation, direct plant uptake of atmospheric Hg) and modeled net exchange between litter-and-plant covered soils, the tallgrass prairie was found to be a net annual sink of atmospheric Hg.