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ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY BEHAVIOR AT DIFFERENT ALTITUDES AT NY-ALESUND DURING SPRING 2003
Citation:
SPROVIERI, F., N. PIRRONE, M. S. LANDIS, AND R. K. STEVENS. ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY BEHAVIOR AT DIFFERENT ALTITUDES AT NY-ALESUND DURING SPRING 2003. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, 39(39):7646-7656, (2005).
Impact/Purpose:
The overall research objective of this task is to improve our understanding of the emission, transport, transformation, and deposition of atmospheric mercury. Information garnered from this research is used to improve and evaluate EPA deterministic models that are used to investigate the (i) relative impact to local, regional, and global sources to atmospheric mercury deposition, and (ii) benefits of various emission reduction scenarios.
Specifically, individual research project objectives are listed below:
(1) Evaluate the ability of speciated mercury (Hg0, Hg2+, HgP) measurements to aid source apportionment models in identifying anthropogenic source contributions to atmospheric mercury deposition
(2) Elucidate the contribution of coal combustion sources to observed mercury wet deposition in the Ohio River Valley
(3) Obtain atmospheric profiles (200 - 12,000 ft) of speciated ambient mercury off the south Florida Coast
- Evaluate the role of long range transport of RGM to Florida in the marine free troposphere.
- Identify any vertical mercury gradients that might indicate the presence of rapid mercury chemistry in air or in cloud water.
(4) Conduct research at Mauna Loa Observatory to elucidate elemental mercury oxidation in the remote marine free troposphere.
(5) Conduct laboratory kinetics experiments to determine the rate constants of elemental mercury oxidation to gaseous inorganic divalent mercury species from atmospheric halide species (e.g. BrO, ClO).
Description:
Intensive field measurements of atmospheric mercury and related species were carried out in Ny Alesund, Spitsbergen during the spring of 2003 at two altitudes. Measurements were made at the Italian research station Dirigibile Italia (12m a.s.l.) and on the top of Zeppelin Mountain at the Norwegian Research Station (474m a.s.l.). Ambient concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury, divalent reactive gaseous mercury and particulate phase mercury were semi-continuously measured at both sites using an integrated Tekran system. Atmospheric elemental gaseous mercury depletion events (AMDEs) were observed at both locations, the lowest observed Hg0 concentration was 0.3 ng m-3. At sea level, mercury species concentrations following AMDEs were found to be higher and to exhibit larger variability in comparison to results observed at Zeppelin station.