title: Mercury Isotopes as Proxies to Identify Sources and Environmental Impacts of Mercury in Sphalerites.
abstract: During the past few years, evidence of mass independent fractionation (MIF) for mercury (Hg) isotopes have been reported in the Earth's surface reservoirs, mainly assumed to be formed during photochemical processes. However, the magnitude of Hg-MIF in interior pools of the crust is largely unknown. Here, we reported significant variation in Hg-MIF signature (Δ(199)Hg: -0.24 ~ + 0.18‰) in sphalerites collected from 102 zinc (Zn) deposits in China, indicating that Hg-MIF can be recorded into the Earth's crust during geological recycling of crustal material. Changing magnitudes of Hg-MIF signals were observed in Zn deposits with different formations, evidence that Hg isotopes (especially Hg-MIF) can be a useful tracer to identify sources (syngenetic and epigenetic) of Hg in mineral deposits. The average isotopic composition in studied sphalerites (δ(202)Hg average: -0.58‰; Δ(199)Hg average: +0.03‰) may be used to fingerprint Zn smelting activities, one of the largest global Hg emission sources.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.|Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.|State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.
authors.forename: Runsheng
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.
authors.forename: Xinbin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
authors.affiliation: Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.|Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Hurley
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, 8505 Research Way, Middleton, WI, 53562, USA.
authors.forename: David P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Krabbenhoft
authors.affiliation: Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, 53706, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Lepak
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.
authors.forename: Ruizhong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.
authors.forename: Zhonggen
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Ore Deposit Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China.
authors.forename: Xianwu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bi