Grantee Research Project Results
2005 Progress Report: Speciated Atmospheric Mercury: Gas/Particle Partitioning, Transformations, and Source Characterization
EPA Grant Number: R829798Title: Speciated Atmospheric Mercury: Gas/Particle Partitioning, Transformations, and Source Characterization
Investigators: Schauer, James J. , Armstrong, D. E. , Krabbenhoft, David P. , Hurley, James P. , Gross, Deborah S.
Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison , United States Geological Survey , Carleton College
Current Institution: University of Wisconsin - Madison , Carleton College , United States Geological Survey
EPA Project Officer: Chung, Serena
Project Period: January 1, 2003 through December 31, 2005 (Extended to December 31, 2006)
Project Period Covered by this Report: January 1, 2005 through December 31, 2006
Project Amount: $898,388
RFA: Mercury: Transport, Transportation, and Fate in the Atmosphere (2001) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Heavy Metal Contamination of Soil/Water , Air Quality and Air Toxics , Safer Chemicals , Air
Objective:
The overall objective of this research project is to understand the relationships of atmospheric mercury (Hg) and other atmospheric components. This holistic approach to assessing atmospheric Hg will provide a better understanding of the sources of speciated atmospheric Hg, as well as the key atmospheric processes that impact the fate of Hg in transport from sources to receptor sites.
The project is comprised of three major thrusts that are integrated to achieve the overall project objective:
- Simultaneously quantify and speciate the chemical forms of atmospheric Hg and other atmospheric pollutants at near-source impacted regions and sensitive receptor sites. Chemical speciation will include elemental Hg, reactive gaseous Hg, and particulate Hg.
- Quantification of atmospheric conditions and aerosol properties that control gas/particle partitioning of the chemical forms of Hg in the atmosphere.
- Identification and quantification of homogenous and heterogeneous atmospheric chemical reactions of Hg with an emphasis on processes involving processes involving aerosols, fog water, and cloud water.
Progress Summary:
In Year 1 of the project, a series of atmospheric Hg sampling campaigns was successfully completed at Devil’s Lake State Park, Wisconsin; Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming; and a highly industrialized region of East St. Louis, Illinois. In Year 2, there were two major field efforts. The first was colocation of a single particle mass spectrometer (aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer) with the Hg monitoring instruments at the East St. Louis site. The second field effort was the initiation of a year-long sampling campaign (June 2004-May 2005) examining atmospheric Hg speciation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A major thrust of Year 3 of the project is the analysis of data from these sampling events and preparation of journal articles highlighting the findings. However, an additional field sampling effort was conducted in Year 3 in Riverside, California, that was integrated with other U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-funded Science To Achieve Results (STAR) research projects. Considerably high levels of Hg were observed in Riverside, and two additional sampling events are planned for Year 4 of the project. Additional sampling will be conducted in the Los Angeles Basin in August 2006 and measurements will be made as part of the National Science Foundation/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/U.S. Department of Energy-funded Megacity Impacts on Regional and Global Environments study in the spring of 2006.
In addition, several publications are expected to be prepared that cover the Year 4 sampling in Mexico City and the two sampling events in the Los Angeles Basin.
In parallel with the field campaigns, experimental laboratory-based capabilities established in Years 1 and 2 of the project were continued in Year 3. These capabilities were focused in two key areas: (1) laboratory experiments and modeling efforts to study the potential formation and destruction of methylmercury in fog and cloud water; (2) the development and subsequent use of an aerosol flight tube to study the gas to particle partitioning of reactive Hg as a function of aerosol composition; and (3) the development of a Thermal Desorption method for the analysis of particulate mercury and reactive gaseous mercury from filter-based samples.
Future Activities:
Efforts in Year 4 of the project will focus on completing publications and implementing the Mexico City and Los Angeles sampling events.
Journal Articles on this Report : 8 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 8 publications | 8 publications in selected types | All 8 journal articles |
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Bittrich D, Chadwick S, Babiarz C, Manolopoulous H, Rutter A, Schauer J, Armstrong D, Collett J, Herckes P. Speciation of Mercury (II) and Methylmercury in Cloud and Fog Water. AEROSOL AND AIR QUALIT RESEARCH 2011;11(2):161-181. |
R829798 (2005) |
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de Foy B, Heo J, Schauer JJ. Estimation of direct emissions and atmospheric processing of reactive mercury using inverse modeling. Atmospheric Environment 2014;85:73-82. |
R829798 (2005) R834557 (2012) R834557 (Final) |
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Hall BD, Olson ML, Rutter AP, Frontiera RR, Krabbenhoft DP, Gross DS, Yuen M, Rudolph TM, Schauer JJ. Atmospheric mercury speciation in Yellowstone National Park. Science of The Total Environment 2006;367(1):354-366. |
R829798 (2005) |
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Hartman J, Weisberg P, Pillai R, Eriksen J, Kuiken T, Lindberg S, Zhang H, James J, Rytuba M. Application of a rule-based model to estimate mercury exchange for three background biomes in the continental United States. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY 2009;43(13):4989-4994. |
R829798 (2005) |
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Manolopoulos H, Schauer JJ, Purcell MD, Rudolph TM, Olson ML, Rodger B, Krabbenhoft DP. Local and regional factors affecting atmospheric mercury speciation at a remote location. Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science 2007;6(5):491-501. |
R829798 (2005) |
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Rutter AP, Schauer JJ. The impact of aerosol composition on the particle to gas partitioning of reactive mercury. Environmental Science & Technology 2007;41(11):3934-3939. |
R829798 (2005) |
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Snyder D, Schauer J, Gross D, Turner J. Estimating the contribution of point sources to atmospheric metals using single-particle mass spectrometry. ATMOSPHERIC ENVIRONMENT 2009;43(26):4033-4042. |
R829798 (2005) |
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Stone E, Zhou J, Snyder D, Rotter A, Mieritz M, Schauer J. A Comparison of Summertime Secondary Organic Aerosol Source Contributions at Contrasting Urban Locations. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY 2009;43(10):3448-3454. |
R829798 (2005) |
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Supplemental Keywords:
particulate matter, PM, St. Louis Midwest Supersite, reactive gaseous mercury, RGM, mercury, elemental mercury, aerosols, gas/particle partitioning, speciation, atmospheric chemistry, deposition, oxidation,, Scientific Discipline, Air, INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION, Waste, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Air Quality, air toxics, Environmental Chemistry, Chemicals, Fate & Transport, Environmental Monitoring, Chemistry and Materials Science, fate and transport, air pollutants, Hg, mercury, mercury emissions, modeling, mercury cycling, chemical kinetics, atmospheric mercury chemistry, mercury chemistry, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric mercury cycling, atmospheric deposition, contaminant transport models, heavy metals, mercury vaporProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.