Sprovieri Mario, Oliveri Elvira, Di Leonardo Rossella, Romano Elena, Ausili Antonella, Gabellini Massimo, Barra Marco, Tranchida Giorgio, Bellanca Adriana, Neri Rodolfo, Budillon Francesca, Saggiomo Roberto, Mazzola Salvatore, Saggiomo Vincenzo
Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero (CNR), Torretta Granitola (Frazione di Campobello di Mazara, TP), Italy.
J Environ Monit. 2011 Jun;13(6):1753-60. doi: 10.1039/c0em00793e. Epub 2011 May 6.
The Augusta basin, located in SE Sicily (southern Italy), is a semi-enclosed marine area, labelled as a highly contaminated site. The release of mercury into the harbour seawater and its dispersion to the blue water, make the Augusta basin a potential source of anthropogenic pollution for the Mediterranean Sea. A mass balance was implemented to calculate the HgT budget in the Augusta basin. Results suggest that an average of ∼0.073 kmol of HgT is released, by diffusion, on a yearly basis, from sediments to the seawater, with a consequent output of 0.162 kmol y(-1) to coastal and offshore waters; this makes the Augusta area an important contributor of mercury to the Mediterranean Sea. Owing to the geographical location of the Augusta basin, its outflowing shelf-waters are immediately intercepted by the surface Atlantic Ionian Stream (AIS) and mixed with the main gyres of the eastern Mediterranean Sea, thus representing a risk for the large-scale marine system.
奥古斯塔湾位于意大利南部西西里岛东南部，是一个半封闭的海域，被列为高度污染区域。汞排放到港口海水中并扩散到外海，使奥古斯塔湾成为地中海潜在的人为污染源。通过质量平衡计算了奥古斯塔湾总汞（HgT）收支情况。结果表明，沉积物每年平均通过扩散向海水中释放约0.073 kmol的总汞，进而每年有0.162 kmol的总汞输出到沿海水域和近海海域；这使得奥古斯塔地区成为地中海汞的重要贡献源。由于奥古斯塔湾的地理位置，其流出的陆架水立即被表层大西洋伊奥尼亚海流（AIS）拦截，并与地中海东部的主要环流混合，从而对大规模海洋系统构成风险。
