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TRANSPORT, AIR-SURFACE EXCHANGE AND LANDSCAPE ACCUMULATION OF AIRBORNE POLLUTANTS DEPOSITED ONTO RURAL CATCHMENTS: THE CASE OF MERCURY
Citation:
TSIROS, I. X. AND R. B. AMBROSE. TRANSPORT, AIR-SURFACE EXCHANGE AND LANDSCAPE ACCUMULATION OF AIRBORNE POLLUTANTS DEPOSITED ONTO RURAL CATCHMENTS: THE CASE OF MERCURY. Presented at 8th Conference on Meteorology-Climatology Atmospheric Physics, Athens, GREECE, May 24 - 26, 2006.
Impact/Purpose:
The objective of this task is to develop, support and transfer a wide variety of tools and mathematical models that can be used to support watershed and water quality protection programs in support of OW, OSWER, and the Regions.
Description:
This paper presents a modeling analysis of airborne mercury fate in rural catchments by coupling components of simulation models developed and published previously by the authors. Results for individual rural catchments are presented and discussed, with a focus on the major mercury mass balance components: hydrologic transport, air-surface exchange, and accumulation in the watershed soils. Sensitivity analyses are performed to evaluate parameters controlling the predicted mercury loading fluxes, including intra- and inter-annual weather variability, landscape characteristics, and other environmental parameters. Simulations were designed to calculate mercury flux response to microclimatic and other environmental variables for several mercury concentration level scenarios. We conclude, finally, that the models used in the present study are suited for use in linked atmospheric-hydrologic mercury modeling studies for assessing acceptable loadings of mercury to the atmosphere to protect environmental quality in rural watersheds.