Change of Dissolved Gaseous Mercury Concentrations in a Southern Reservoir Lake (Tennessee) Following Seasonal Variation of Solar Radiation

Abstract

A 12-month field study was conducted consecutively from June 2003 to May 2004 to quantify temporal variations of dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) concentrations in Cane Creek Lake, a southern reservoir lake (Cookeville, TN). Diurnal changes of DGM concentrations in two periods (morning increase vs afternoon decrease with an around-noon peak) were observed, and the changes closely followed daily solar radiation variation trends. The diurnal patterns prevailed in the late spring and summer, but became vague in the late fall and winter. The monthly mean DGM concentrations peaked at 40.8 pg L(-1) in July and reached the lowest at 14.2 pg L(-1) in December and 21.9 pg L(-1) in January; this DGM concentration change closely followed the monthly mean solar radiation variation trend. The increase of the lake DGM concentration from January to July and its decrease from July to December mirror the typical daily rhythm of DGM concentration variations in the two periods. This finding supports the following hypothesis: The natural phenomenon of daily oscillation of freshwater DGM concentrations that follows diurnal solar radiation variation would manifest on a seasonal scale. High DGM concentrations were found in the spring and summer and low in the fall and winter (seasonal mean: 34.2, 37.5, 20.0, 24.4 pg L(-1), respectively). This seems to suggest an annual occurrence of two periods of the seasonal DGM level fluctuation (spring and summer high vs fall and winter low DGM levels). Linear relationships of the monthly mean DGM concentrations were found with the monthly mean global solar radiation (R2 = 0.82, P < 0.05) and UVA radiation (R2 = 0.84, P < 0.05). Linear relationships of the seasonal mean DGM concentrations were also found with the seasonal mean global solar radiation (R2 = 0.85, P = 0.08) and UVA radiation (R2 = 0.93, P < 0.05).