Isotope-Based Characterization of Soil Elemental Mercury Emissions from Historical Mercury Mining Areas: Driving Pathways and Relative Contributions

Abstract

Photo-, microbial, and abiotic dark reduction of soil mercury (Hg) may all lead to elemental mercury (Hg(0)) emissions. Utilizing lab incubations, isotope signatures of Hg(0) emitted from mining soils were characterized to quantify the interplay and contributions of various Hg reduction pathways, which have been scarcely studied. At 15 °C, microbial reduced Hg(0) showed a negative mass-dependent fractionation (MDF) (δ²⁰²Hg = −0.30 ± 0.08‰, 1SD) and near-zero mass-independent fractionation (MIF) (Δ¹⁹⁹Hg = 0.01 ± 0.04‰, 1SD), closely resembling dark reduced Hg(0) (δ²⁰²Hg = −0.18 ± 0.05‰, Δ¹⁹⁹Hg = −0.01 ± 0.03‰, 1SD). In comparison, photoreduced Hg(0) exhibited significant MDF and MIF (δ²⁰²Hg = −0.55 ± 0.05‰, Δ¹⁹⁹Hg = −0.20 ± 0.07‰, 1SD). In the dark, Hg isotopic signatures remained constant over the temperature range of 15–35 °C. Nonetheless, light exposure and temperature changes together altered Hg(0) MIF signatures significantly. Isotope mixing models along with Hg(0) emission flux data highlighted photo- and microbial reduction contributing 79–88 and 12–21%, respectively, of the total Hg(0) emissions from mining soils, with negligible abiotic dark reduction. Microorganisms are the key driver of soil Hg(0) emissions by first dissolving HgS and then promoting ionic Hg formation, followed by facilitating the photo- and microbial reduction of organically bound Hg. These insights deepen our understanding of the biogeochemical processes that influence Hg(0) releases from surface soils.