Academic Journal
Evaluation of riverine suspended particulate matter sampling with sedimentation boxes and flow-through centrifuges for total mercury and methylmercury analysis.
| Τίτλος: | Evaluation of riverine suspended particulate matter sampling with sedimentation boxes and flow-through centrifuges for total mercury and methylmercury analysis. |
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| Συγγραφείς: | Krisch S; Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute for Geoecology, Environmental Geochemistry Group, Braunschweig, Germany; Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Division G - Qualitative Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany. Electronic address: stephan.krisch@tu-braunschweig.de., Alten A; Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute for Geoecology, Environmental Geochemistry Group, Braunschweig, Germany., Gfeller L; Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Division G - Qualitative Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany., Breidenbach A; Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Division G - Qualitative Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany., Hahn J; Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Division G - Qualitative Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany., Duester L; Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Division G - Qualitative Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany., Biester H; Technical University of Braunschweig, Institute for Geoecology, Environmental Geochemistry Group, Braunschweig, Germany., Wiederhold JG; Federal Institute of Hydrology (BfG), Division G - Qualitative Hydrology, Koblenz, Germany. |
| Πηγή: | Environmental research [Environ Res] 2026 Aug 15; Vol. 304, pp. 124805. Date of Electronic Publication: 2026 May 26. |
| Τύπος έκδοσης: | Journal Article |
| Γλώσσα: | English |
| Στοιχεία περιοδικού: | Publisher: Elsevier Country of Publication: Netherlands NLM ID: 0147621 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1096-0953 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00139351 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Environ Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: <2000- > : Amsterdam : Elsevier Original Publication: New York, Academic Press. |
| Ιατρικοί όροι (MeSH): | Methylmercury Compounds*/analysis , Mercury*/analysis , Rivers*/chemistry , Environmental Monitoring*/methods , Environmental Monitoring*/instrumentation , Water Pollutants, Chemical*/analysis , Particulate Matter*/analysis, Centrifugation ; Germany ; Seasons |
| Περίληψη: | Mercury (Hg) is a highly toxic element. Despite recent efforts in reducing emissions, large amounts of anthropogenic Hg and its different species are still present in riverine systems. A common sampling technique for suspended particulate matter (SPM), the main carrier phase of Hg in river waters, are sedimentation boxes. Yet, their accuracy and representativeness with respect to changing hydrological conditions and preservation of Hg including methylmercury (MeHg) has not been investigated. This study investigates the annual cycle of total Hg, MeHg, and total organic carbon (TOC) contents from monthly SPM samples of the legacy-contaminated Elbe River (Germany). Samples were obtained between June 2022 and September 2023 at four locations with varying Hg concentrations and compared to day-specific SPM samples collected by flow-through centrifugation. Total Hg contents of SPM agreed well between the two sampling systems, but considerably higher MeHg (up to 5-fold) and TOC (up to 4-fold) concentrations were observed in sedimentation box SPM in spring and summer compared to centrifuge SPM. This suggests increased in-situ Hg methylation driven by labile organic matter, elevated water temperature, and anoxic conditions after SPM deposition. Centrifuge SPM showed less pronounced seasonality in MeHg with up to 3-fold higher concentrations and effects of 'bio-dilution' from biomass production in spring and summer. Our data suggests diagenetic processes, which increase Hg methylation, make sedimentation box samples less representative for MeHg loads in riverine SPM. We propose sedimentation boxes may be perceived as a river specific in-situ model to assess the methylation potential of recently deposited SPM. (Copyright © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Mercury cycling; Methylmercury; Particle sampling; Rivers; Sampling artefacts; Suspended particulate matter |
| Substance Nomenclature: | 0 (Methylmercury Compounds) FXS1BY2PGL (Mercury) 0 (Water Pollutants, Chemical) 0 (Particulate Matter) |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20260527 Date Completed: 20260611 Latest Revision: 20260612 |
| Update Code: | 20260613 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envres.2026.124805 |
| PMID: | 42203061 |
| Βάση Δεδομένων: | MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1096-0953 |
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| DOI: | 10.1016/j.envres.2026.124805 |