Abstract
Concentrations of total mercury (Hg), methyl Hg and Hg(II) were determined in coastal marine sediments collected from the Baltic, South China and the Bering Seas. Methyl Hg concentrations in sediments were between 0.01 and 2 ng g-1 on a dry weight basis, accounting for only <1% of the total Hg concentrations. The percentage of Hg(II) (i.e. available Hg) in total Hg was between 5 and 13 suggesting that most of the Hg in sediments was bound as HgS and/or Hg-humic complexes. Relatively larger proportion of methyl Hg was found in less polluted freshwater sediments than in marine sediments. Methyl Hg concentrations in marine sediments were not found to be correlated with total Hg and/or Hg (II) concentrations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson, I., Parkman, H. and Jernelöv, A.: 1990, Limnologica 20, 347.
Andren, A. W. and Harris, C. R.: 1973, Nature 245, 256.
Bartlett, P. D., Craig, P. J. and Morton, S. F.: 1987, Sci. Total Environ. 10, 245.
Berman, M. and Bartha, R.: 1986, Environ. Pollut. (series B), 11, 41.
Blum, J. E. and Bartha, R.: 1980, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 25, 404.
Capone, D. G. and Kiene, R. P.: 1988, Limnol. Oceanogr. 33, 725.
Choi, S. C. and Bartha, R.: 1994, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 53, 805.
Compeau, G. and Bartha, R.: 1983, Bull. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 31, 486.
Coquery, M. and Cossa, D.: 1995, Netherlands J. Sea Res. 34, 245.
Craig, P. J.: 1986, in Craig, P. J. (ed.), Organometallic Compounds in the Environment, John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp. 65-110.
Craig, P. J. and Moreton, P. A.: 1983, Mar. Pollut. Bull. 14, 408.
Fagerstrom, T. and Jernelöv, A.: 1971, Wat. Res. 5, 121.
Gilmour, C. C. and Henry, E. A.: 1991), Environ. Pollut. 71, 131.
Hamasaki, T., Nagase, H., Yoshioka, Y. and Sato, T.: 1995, Crit, Rev. Environ. Sci. Technol. 25, 45.
Honda, K., Nasu, T. and Tatsukawa, R.: 1986, Environ. Pollut. (series A) 42, 325.
Horvat, M., Bloom, N. S. and Liang, L.: 1993, Anal. Chim. Acta 281, 135.
Jernelöv, A., Landner, L. and Larsson, T.: 1975, J Wat. Pollut. Contr. Fed. 47, 810.
Kannan, K., Smith, R. G., Lee, R. F., Windom, H. L., Heitmuller, T. P., Macauley, J. M. and Summers, J. K.: 1997, Environ. Toxicol. Chem. (in press).
Kelly, C. A., Rudd, J. W. M., Louis, V. L. and Heyes, A.: 1995, Water, Air, and Soil Pollut. 80, 715.
Liang, L., Horvat, M. and Bloom, N. S.: 1994, Talanta 41, 371.
Mason, R. P. and Fitzgerald, W. F.: 1991, Water, Air and Soil Pollut. 56, 779.
Mason, R. P., Rolfhus, K. R. and Fitzgerald, W. F.: 1995, Water, Air and Soil Pollut. 80, 665.
Mikac, N., Kwokal, Z., May, K. and Branica, M.: 1989, Mar. Chem. 28, 109.
Olson, B. H. and Cooper, R. C.: 1974, Nature, 252, 682.
Schmidt, D.: 1992, Water, Air and Soil Pollut. 62, 43.
Sprangler, W. J., Spigarelli, J. L., Rose, J. M. and Miller, H. M.: 1973, Science 180, 192.
Weber, J. H.: 1993, Chemosphere 26, 2063.
Wilken, R. D. and Hintelmann, H.: 1991, Water, Air and Soil Pollut. 56, 427.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kannan, K., Falandysz, J. Speciation and Concentrations of Mercury in Certain Coastal Marine Sediments. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution 103, 129–136 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004967112178
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004967112178