Changes in Mercury Deposition in a Mining and Smelting Region as Recorded in Tree Rings

0360810 - GLÚ 2012 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Hojdová, Maria - Navrátil, Tomáš - Rohovec, Jan - Žák, Karel - Vaněk, A. - Chrastný, V. - Bače, R. - Svoboda, M.
Changes in Mercury Deposition in a Mining and Smelting Region as Recorded in Tree Rings.
Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. Roč. 216, 1/4 (2011), s. 73-82. ISSN 0049-6979. E-ISSN 1573-2932
R&D Projects: GA ČR GP526/09/P404
Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30130516
Keywords : mercury * dendrochemistry * trees * geochemical archives
Subject RIV: DD - Geochemistry
Impact factor: 1.625, year: 2011

Metal mining and processing in the central Czech Republic has led to the contamination of surrounding soils and vegetation. In this study, Hg concentrations were measured in spruce (Picea abies L.) and beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) tree rings to monitor historical Hg deposition in the area. The highest Hg concentrations were found in spruce at an HgS smelting contaminated site (up to 15 ng g⁻¹), probably reflecting smelting activities at the end of the nineteenth century. In the vicinity of a Pb smelter, Hg concentrations increased from the 1950s to maxima (up to 8.4 ng g⁻¹) in the 1970s, corresponding with a peak of metallurgical production and smelter emissions in the mid 1970s. A decreasing trend in Hg concentrations since the 1980s was probably related to improvements in flue gas cleaning technologies. The beech trees, which grow at a site between two smelters and range in age from 150 to 220 years, seem to reflect deposition from both point sources.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0198273