Mercury accumulation in soil fractions of podzols from two contrasted geographical temperate areas: southwest Europe and southernmost America

The presence of Hg in soil fractions of different size in eight illuvial horizons of podzols from SW Europe and five from southernmost America was studied. Total Hg concentration (HgT) in the bulk soil was very variable, ranging from 11 to 293 ng g−1, attributed to a different intensity of the pedogenetic and weathering processes. The clay fraction showed the highest HgT average with 509 ng g−1 (range 93–2076 ng g−1), followed by the fine silt...