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COMMENTS ON "MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY SPECIES AT A COASTAL SITE IN THE ANTARCTIC AND OVER THE SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN DURING POLAR SUMMER"
Citation:
Landis, M S. AND R. K. STEVENS. COMMENTS ON "MEASUREMENTS OF ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY SPECIES AT A COASTAL SITE IN THE ANTARCTIC AND OVER THE SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN DURING POLAR SUMMER". JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 37(14):3239-3240, (2003).
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:
Attached comment submitted to Environmental Science and Technology entitled, Comments on "Measurements of Atmospheric Mercury Species at a Costal Site in the Antarctic and over the South Atlantic Ocean during Polar Summer" by Temme et al. Environmental Science and Technology 37 (2003), 22-31. The comment addresses my concerns over the author's misapplication of mercury measurement methodologies and the misinterpretation of meteorological trajectory analysis.
This work has been funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development. It has been subjected to Agency Review and approved for publication.