Mass Balance of Total Mercury and Monomethylmercury in Coastal Embayments of a Volcanic Island: Significance of Submarine Groundwater Discharge

Abstract

To understand the contribution of submarine ground-water discharge (SGD) to the coastal mass budgets of Hg and monomethylmercury (MMHg), preliminary mass balance estimates were made for Hwasun and Bangdu Bays on Jeju Island, known to have large SGD due to the high permeability of the volcanic rocks. The mass balance results indicate that SGD is a main source of Hg in Hwasun Bay (23 +/- 14 x 10(-2) mol yr(-1), 34%) and Bangdu Bay (23 +/- 20 x 10(-2) mol yr(-1), 67%), although the contribution from atmospheric deposition was considerable (25% for Hwasun and 23% for Bangdu). MM:Hg was also discharged primarily from submarine groundwater at Hwasun (0.30 +/- 0.17 x 10(-2) mol yr(-1), 55%) and Bangdu (0.65 +/- 0.49 x 10(-2) mol yr(-1), 64%), which was higher than atmospheric deposition (6% for Hwasun and 2% for Bangdu) and sediment diffusion flux (5% for Hwasun and 3% for Bangdu). The overall mass balance results suggest that, although there are large spatial variations in SGD rates throughout the region, the coastal mass budgets of Hg and MMHg need to include SGD as well as atmospheric deposition and sediment diffusion as primary sources of Hg and MMHg.