Use of Stable Isotopes in Mercury Research
Use of Stable Isotopes in Mercury Research
The determination of natural variations in mercury isotope ratios is a rapidly emerging area of research, opening new avenues for studying the fate of mercury in the environment. This chapter presents the basics on physical and chemical isotope fractionation mechanisms, including both mass-dependent and mass-independent mercury isotope fractionation. An overview of analytical techniques used for mercury isotope ratio measurements is followed by a review of mercury isotope fractionation in natural samples. The use of mercury isotope signatures as tracers for sources and processes will be discussed in the context of source appointment for mercury emissions and bioaccumulation in aquatic ecosystems, with particular emphasis on the role that mercury isotopes may play in understanding the global mercury cycle.
Keywords: mercury, isotope ratio, isotope fractionation, mass-dependent fractionation, mass-independent fractionation, source appointment, bioaccumulation
California Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.
