Total Mercury Mass Load from the Paglia–Tiber River System: The Contribution to Mediterranean Sea Hg Budget

Abstract

The Mediterranean Sea is characterized by a marked mercury (Hg) geochemical anomaly, arising in part from large Hg deposits. Mercury mass loads discharged from the Monte Amiata mining district (Central Italy) to the Mediterranean Sea through the Paglia–Tiber River system were estimated. Data from two seasons showed that up to 40 kg year−1 of Hg are drained to Tiber River and finally to the Mediterranean Sea. The mercury mass loads varied in different seasons, from 3 mg day−1 in the upper section of Paglia River in November to 42 g day−1 before the confluence with Tiber River in June. Along Tiber River, up to 15 ng L−1 of the total Hg found at a site after Rome showed that Hg can be discharged to the sea. The Alviano reservoir along Tiber River acts as a temporary trap for Hg-rich particulate, while dam operations may promote Hg release (up to 223 g day−1). The combination of hydrologic factors controlling Hg transport, the torrential regime in the upper catchment of Paglia River, the waterway steepness, together with Hg-contaminated legacy sediments in the Paglia River floodplain, make the Paglia–Tiber River system a long-lasting intermittent source of Hg to Tiber River and the Mediterranean Sea.