Environmental impacts of 222Rn, Hg and CO2 emissions from the fault zones in the western margin of the Ordos block, China

Abstract

Investigating the emissions of soil gas including radon, mercury and carbon dioxide (²²²Rn, Hg and CO₂) from the solid earth to the atmosphere through active fault zones is of great significance for accession of atmospheric environment. In this study, the concentrations and fluxes of ²²²Rn, Hg and CO₂ were measured at the main active fault zones at the western margin of the Ordos block, China. The concentrations of ²²²Rn, Hg and CO₂ were in the range of 0-60.1 kBq m^-3, 3-81 ng m^-3 and 0.04-9.23%, respectively, while the fluxes of ²²²Rn, Hg and CO₂ are in the range of 1.99-306.99 mBq m^-2 s^-1, 0-15.12 ng m^-2 h^-1 and 0-37.91 g m^-2d^-1, respectively. Most of the major fault zones at the study area are CO₂ risk-free regions (CO₂ concentration in soil gas < 5%). However, the extend of ²²²Rn pollution at the fault zones of F₁, F₄, F₅ and F₉ (the fault number) and that of Hg pollution at the fault zones of F₂, F₄, F₅ and F₇ were higher than the pollution level of 1. The annual emission of Hg and CO₂ from the western margin of the Ordos block was estimated to be 2.03 kg and 0.70 Mt, respectively. Comprehensive analyses indicated that the higher emission rates of soil gases from the active fault zones were related to the seismic activities. The results suggest that the earthquake activity is a dominant factor enhancing the emission of ²²²Rn, Hg and CO₂ from the solid earth through active fault zones and, furthermore, resulting great impact on the atmospheric environment.

Keywords: Active fault zone; Earthquake; Environmental impact; Ordos block; Soil gas.