Soil-air exchange of mercury from agricultural fields in Zhejiang, East China: Seasonal variations, influence factors, and models of fluxes

Abstract

Mercury exchange between soil and air is an important processe governing the biogeochemical cycling of Hg. This study investigated the in situ soil-air Hg fluxes in agricultural soils of Quzhou, Zhejiang Province, China, using a dynamic flux chamber coupled with a Hg vapor analyzer. Soil-air Hg exchange fluxes were overall emission for all seasons, indicating that agricultural soil was a Hg source for the atmosphere. Seasonal variations in soil-air Hg flux were observed, with low values in winter, elevated values in spring, peak values in summer, and a decline in autumn. Mercury emissions from soils showed a clear diurnal pattern where Hg released into the atmosphere reached a maximum at 11 a.m. and declined to a minimum at 2:00 and 20:00 in spring and summer, respectively. Meanwhile, soil-air Hg flux peaked at 1 p.m. and declined to a minimum at 6:00 and 23:00 in autumn and winter, respectively. The impact of each factor on the Hg exchange between soil and air varied in different seasons. Soil temperature was the major variable controlling the Hg flux in winter and spring; soil temperature and total gaseous Hg evidently affected the Hg flux in summer, and ozone (O3) played a dominant role in influencing the Hg flux in autumn. Models for estimating the Hg evasive flux from soils were developed, and the atmospheric O3 concentration was used for the first time as a parameter in these models. The measured and modeled Hg fluxes showed significant linear correlations (R2 = 0.61; P < 0.001).