Mercury in the Bottom Sediments of the Ship Channel and River Mouths: the Vistula Lagoon

Abstract

It is studied the distribution of Hg in bottom sediments of estuaries on the banks of the open water area of the Vistula Lagoon and in the Kaliningrad Sea Canal (KSC) isolated from it. Methods for the determination of Hg: inversive voltammetry and highly sensitive flameless atomic absorption spectrometry. It has been established: from spring to autumn the activation of storms and surge events in the lagoon, intensification of the water flushing regime of the channels ensure a significant Hg decrease in river mouths, but in dynamically weakened KSC conditions - an increase in Hg (from 0.05 to 0.85 mg / kg). In KSC bays, the safe level of Hg (0.3 mg / kg) for the period 2000-2015 was not exceeded (0.008 to 0.216 mg / kg), which indicates a favorable ecological and epidemiological situation. Hg determinations by low-sensitivity methods can be used only in qualitative assessments of the variability in concentrations of any dangerous toxicant. Finding a reliable amount of Hg in river mouths requires the use of highly sensitive methods of analysis.

Keywords

• vistula lagoon
• mercury
• bottom sediments
• ship channel
• river mouths
• kaliningrad sea canal (ksc)
• dangerous toxicant
• marine environment