Primary Factors Controlling Hg Methylation in Reservoirs

Abstract

In this book, we conducted an intensive study on the mercury (Hg) biogeochemical processes in a river-reservoir ecosystem in the Wujiang River Basin, Southwest China. The concentrations and distributions of Hg species in the reservoirs (water column, sediment, and sediment pore water), the inflow/outflow rivers of the reservoirs, wet deposition, and food chains within the Wujiang River Basin were systematically investigated (Chaps. 3, 5, 6, 7, and 9). Measurements of the water/air exchange flux of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) were also conducted in the reservoirs (Chap. 4). A detailed mass balance of the total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) in the selected six reservoirs was developed (Chap. 8). This chapter reveals the primary factors that controlling Hg methylation in reservoirs in Wujiang River Basin, Southwest China. To better understand the biogeochemical processes of Hg in Wujiang River Basin, a conceptual model of the Hg in the river-reservoir system was further developed in this chapter.