With the improvement of analytical methods and the development of multiple-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP/MS), research on non-traditional stable isotope (Cu, Zn, Fe, Se, Mo, Cr, Hg) in geochemistry has made tremendous progress in the past decade.

Recent studies have demonstrated that both organic and inorganic reactions may cause Hg isotope fractionation, and variations of Hg isotopic composition in the environment have been successfully employed to explain Hg pollution history, Hg sources and tracking Hg pathways in nature. Furthermore, Hg isotopic fractionation studies can be a powerful tool in the calibration of global Hg cycling models. Stable isotope geochemistry of Hg is therefore becoming a new frontier subject in earth sciences.

Based on summarizing previous research, this paper outlines the main advances in the study of Hg stable isotopes with particular emphasis placed on a brief explanation of Hg isotope analytical techniques, possible Hg isotope fractionation mechanisms observed in both natural and experimental processes, Hg isotope composition variations in different environmental matrices, and the application prospects of the Hg stable isotopes in environmental geosciences.

Publication name	Applied Geochemistry, Volume 25, Issue 10, October 2010, Pages 1467-1477
Author(s)	Yin RS, Feng XB, Shi WF
Corresponding author	FENG, Xinbin fengxinbin@vip.skleg.cn　Chinese Acad Sci, Inst Geochem, State Key Lab Environm Geochem, 73 Guanshui Rd, Guiyang 550002, Guizhou Peoples R China

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