Metals sequestered in coastal sediments are normally considered to be stable, but this investigation shows – somewhat surprisingly – that mercury concentrations in a previously contaminated area, Harboøre Tange, Denmark, have decreased since the 1980s. Mercury concentrations were determined in sediment and benthic biota and present values were compared to values in the 1980s and values from areas without known; history of mercury contamination. Concentrations in both the upper 20 cm of the sediments and; biota are considerably lower now compared to latest monitoring (1980s). Sediment.

concentrations at most locations have decreased from the 100–300 ng Hg g⁻¹ dry weight (dw) level to levels below the Background Concentration (BC) of 50 ng Hg g⁻¹ dw defined by Oslo-Paris Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic; some stations are at the 2–10 ng Hg g⁻¹ dw level characteristic of Danish coastal sediments with no known history of mercury contamination. Concentrations of mercury in the benthic biota along Harboøre Tange have also decreased since the 1980s but despite the lowered mercury concentrations in the sediments, concentrations in most samples of benthic invertebrate fauna still exceed those in uncontaminated coastal areas and also the Environmental Quality Standard (EQS) of 20 ng Hg g⁻¹ wet weight (≈100 ng Hg g⁻¹ dry weight) defined by the European Union's Water Framework Directive. Concentration ranges in selected organisms are: (Harboøre Tange l980s/Harboøre Tange now/uncontaminated areas - given in ng Hg g⁻¹ dw): Periwinkles Littorina littorea 9000/150–450/55-77, blue mussels Mytilus edulis up to 9000/300–500/40–170, cockles Cerastoderma edule up to 8000/400–1200/200, brown shrimp Crangon crangon 700–2200/150-450/47, eelgrass Zostera marina up to 330/25–70/12. The present results - together with a literature review - show that a simple and straight forward relationship between the concentrations of mercury in sediment and benthic organisms does not necessarily exist.

隔离在沿海沉积物中的金属通常被认为是稳定的，但这项调查表明，出乎意料的是，自1980年代以来，先前受污染的地区（丹麦HarboøreTange）的汞浓度有所下降。确定了沉积物和底栖生物区系中的汞浓度，并将其当前值与1980年代的值以及来自未知地区的值进行了比较；汞污染的历史。沉积物上部20 cm处的浓度；以及 与最新的监测（1980年代）相比，现在的生物群要低得多。沉淀。

大多数地区的浓度已从100–300 ng Hg g ^-1干重（dw）降低至低于《奥斯陆-巴黎保护巴黎公约》所定义的50 ng Hg g ^-1 dw的背景浓度（BC）。东北大西洋的海洋环境；一些站位处于丹麦沿海沉积物的2-10 ng Hg g ^-1 dw水平，没有已知的汞污染历史。自1980年代以来，HarboøreTange沿岸底栖生物区系中的汞浓度也有所下降，但是尽管沉积物中的汞浓度降低了，但大多数底栖无脊椎动物动物样本中的汞浓度仍超过未受污染的沿海地区以及环境质量标准（EQS）的20 ng Hg g欧盟水框架指令定义的^-1湿重（≈100ng Hg g ^-1干重）。选定生物体的浓度范围为：（HarboøreTange l980s / HarboøreTange now /未受污染的区域-以ng Hg g ^-1 dw给出）：长春花Littorina littorea 9000 / 150-450 / 55-77，蓝贻贝Mytilus edulis高达9000 / 300–500 / 40–170，海藻蛤era皮可达8000 / 400–1200 / 200，棕虾Crangon烤面包片700–2200 / 150-450/ 47，鳗Z Zostera marina高达330 / 25–70 / 12。目前的结果以及文献综述表明，沉积物中汞浓度与底栖生物之间并没有简单直接的关系。