Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea
Continuous dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) measurements were performed during the summer months (May to September 2019) in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea), a well-studied contaminated site due to releases of mercury from the former mercury mine Idrija in Slovenia. Continuous DGM data wer...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/587 |
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| author | Jože Kotnik Dušan Žagar Gorazd Novak Matjaž Ličer Milena Horvat |
| author_facet | Jože Kotnik Dušan Žagar Gorazd Novak Matjaž Ličer Milena Horvat |
| author_sort | Jože Kotnik |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Continuous dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) measurements were performed during the summer months (May to September 2019) in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea), a well-studied contaminated site due to releases of mercury from the former mercury mine Idrija in Slovenia. Continuous DGM data were regularly checked by the discrete manual method to assure traceability and comparability of the results and used for the calculation of the upward flux of Hg(0) between the water and the air compartment, using the gas exchange model applied in previous studies in the Mediterranean Sea. DGM concentrations measured by continuous and discrete methods showed good agreement, 68.7 and 73.5 ng·m<sup>−3</sup>, respectively. The diurnal DGM variability examined by sorting the DGM concentrations in 24 1-h intervals was extremely low (68.3–69.2 ng·m<sup>−3</sup>). Various environmental parameters measured at oceanographic buoy Vida, and the nearby stations were used to determine the relationship between DGM and the individual environmental parameters. The correlation with the oxygen saturation was pronounced during the July high DGM event (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.70, <i>p</i> < 0.05), and the gradient between the bottom and surface temperature was correlated with both DGM peaks in June and July (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.42 and R<sup>2</sup> = 0.43, <i>p</i> < 0.05). Transport from the more polluted northern part of the Gulf was determined as the most probable source of both high DGM events. The computed average annual Hg(0) flux across the water–air interface (5.13 ng·m<sup>−2</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>) was lower than those reported in recent studies. We assume that for an appropriate assessment of the Hg evasion flux and of the temporal DGM variability in such heterogeneously polluted coastal areas, both spatial and temporal coverage are required. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:38:31Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T03:38:31Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-49d6f0fd0d964a2ebd283f42b4efc40f2023-11-23T11:38:52ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-04-0110558710.3390/jmse10050587Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic SeaJože Kotnik0Dušan Žagar1Gorazd Novak2Matjaž Ličer3Milena Horvat4Department of Environmental Sciences, Institut Jožef Stefan, Jamova Cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova Cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaFaculty of Civil and Geodetic Engineering, University of Ljubljana, Jamova Cesta 2, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaSlovenian Environment Agency, Vojkova 1b, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaDepartment of Environmental Sciences, Institut Jožef Stefan, Jamova Cesta 39, SI-1000 Ljubljana, SloveniaContinuous dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) measurements were performed during the summer months (May to September 2019) in the Gulf of Trieste (northern Adriatic Sea), a well-studied contaminated site due to releases of mercury from the former mercury mine Idrija in Slovenia. Continuous DGM data were regularly checked by the discrete manual method to assure traceability and comparability of the results and used for the calculation of the upward flux of Hg(0) between the water and the air compartment, using the gas exchange model applied in previous studies in the Mediterranean Sea. DGM concentrations measured by continuous and discrete methods showed good agreement, 68.7 and 73.5 ng·m<sup>−3</sup>, respectively. The diurnal DGM variability examined by sorting the DGM concentrations in 24 1-h intervals was extremely low (68.3–69.2 ng·m<sup>−3</sup>). Various environmental parameters measured at oceanographic buoy Vida, and the nearby stations were used to determine the relationship between DGM and the individual environmental parameters. The correlation with the oxygen saturation was pronounced during the July high DGM event (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.70, <i>p</i> < 0.05), and the gradient between the bottom and surface temperature was correlated with both DGM peaks in June and July (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.42 and R<sup>2</sup> = 0.43, <i>p</i> < 0.05). Transport from the more polluted northern part of the Gulf was determined as the most probable source of both high DGM events. The computed average annual Hg(0) flux across the water–air interface (5.13 ng·m<sup>−2</sup>·h<sup>−1</sup>) was lower than those reported in recent studies. We assume that for an appropriate assessment of the Hg evasion flux and of the temporal DGM variability in such heterogeneously polluted coastal areas, both spatial and temporal coverage are required.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/587dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM)continuous and discrete measurementsmodellingevasionnorthern Adriatic Sea |
| spellingShingle | Jože Kotnik Dušan Žagar Gorazd Novak Matjaž Ličer Milena Horvat Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea Journal of Marine Science and Engineering dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM) continuous and discrete measurements modelling evasion northern Adriatic Sea |
| title | Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea |
| title_full | Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea |
| title_fullStr | Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea |
| title_short | Dissolved Gaseous Mercury (DGM) in the Gulf of Trieste, Northern Adriatic Sea |
| title_sort | dissolved gaseous mercury dgm in the gulf of trieste northern adriatic sea |
| topic | dissolved gaseous Hg (DGM) continuous and discrete measurements modelling evasion northern Adriatic Sea |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/5/587 |
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