scholarly journals Trend of atmospheric mercury concentrations at Cape Point for 1995–2004 and since 2007

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynwill G. Martin ◽  
Casper Labuschagne ◽  
Ernst-Günther Brunke ◽  
Andreas Weigelt ◽  
Ralf Ebinghaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Austral Spring ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Regional Processes

Abstract. Long-term measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations at Cape Point, South Africa, reveal a downward trend between September 1995 and December 2005 and an upward one since March 2007 until June 2015 implying a change in trend sign between 2004 and 2007. The trend change is qualitatively consistent with the trend changes in GEM concentrations observed at Mace Head, Ireland, and in mercury wet deposition over North America suggesting a change in worldwide mercury emissions. Seasonally resolved trends suggest a modulation of the overall trend by regional processes. The trends in absolute terms (downward in 1995–2004 and upward in 2007–2015) are the highest in austral spring (SON) coinciding with the peak in emissions from biomass burning in South America and southern Africa. The influence of trends in biomass burning is further supported by a biennial variation in GEM concentration found here and an ENSO signature in GEM concentrations reported recently.

scholarly journals Trend of atmospheric mercury concentrations at Cape Point for 1995–2004 and since 2007

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 2393-2399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynwill G. Martin ◽  
Casper Labuschagne ◽  
Ernst-Günther Brunke ◽  
Andreas Weigelt ◽  
Ralf Ebinghaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Southern Oscillation ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Austral Spring ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Regional Processes

Abstract. Long-term measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations at Cape Point, South Africa, reveal a downward trend between September 1995 and December 2005 and an upward one from March 2007 until June 2015, implying a change in trend sign between 2004 and 2007. The trend change is qualitatively consistent with the trend changes in GEM concentrations observed at Mace Head, Ireland, and in mercury wet deposition over North America, suggesting a change in worldwide mercury emissions. Seasonally resolved trends suggest a modulation of the overall trend by regional processes. The trends in absolute terms (downward in 1995–2004 and upward in 2007–2015) are highest in austral spring (SON), coinciding with the peak in emissions from biomass burning in South America and southern Africa. The influence of trends in biomass burning is further supported by a biennial variation in GEM concentration found here and an El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) signature in GEM concentrations reported recently.

scholarly journals Emissions of mercury in Southern Africa derived from long-term observations at Cape Point, South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 11079-11103
Author(s):  
E.-G. Brunke ◽  
R. Ebinghaus ◽  
H. H. Kock ◽  
C. Labuschagne ◽  
F. Slemr
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Mercury Emission ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Term Monitoring ◽  
Co Emission ◽  
Emission Ratios

Abstract. Mercury emissions in South Africa have so far been estimated only by a bottom-up approach from activities and emission factors for different processes. In this paper we derive GEM/CO (GEM being gaseous elemental mercury, Hg0), GEM/CO2, GEM/CH4, CO/CO2, CH4/CO2, and CH4/CO emission ratios from plumes observed during long-term monitoring of these species at Cape Point between March 2007 and December 2009. The average observed GEM/CO, GEM/CO2, GEM/CH4, CO/CO2, CH4/CO2, and CH4/CO emission ratios were 2.40 ± 2.65 pg m−3 ppb−1 (n = 47), 62.7 ± 80.2 pg m−3 ppb−1 (n = 44), 3.61 ± 4.66 pg m−3 ppb−1 (n = 46), 35.6 ± 25.4 ppb ppm−1 (n = 52), 20.2 ± 15.5 ppb ppm−1 (n=48), and 0.876 ± 1.106 ppb ppm−1 (n=42), respectively. The observed CO/CO2, CH4/CO2, and CH4/CO emission ratios agree within the combined uncertainties of the observations and emissions with the ratios calculated from EDGAR (version 4.2) CO2, CO, and CH4 inventories for South Africa and Southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique) in 2007 and 2008 (inventories for 2009 are not available yet). Total elemental mercury emission of 13.1, 15.2, and 16.1 t Hg yr−1 are estimated independently using the GEM/CO, GEM/CO2, and GEM/CH4 emission ratios and the annual mean CO, CO2, and CH4 emissions, respectively, of South Africa in 2007 and 2008. The average of these independent estimates of 14.8 ± 1.5 t GEM yr−1 is much less than the total emission of 257 t Hg yr−1 from older inventories. Considering that emission of GEM represents only 50–78% of all mercury emissions, our estimates come close to the total mercury emission estimates ranging between 40–50 t Hg yr−1 from more recent inventories.

scholarly journals Speciated Atmospheric Mercury during Haze and Non-haze Days in an Inland City in China

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianqian Hong ◽  
Zhouqing Xie ◽  
Cheng Liu ◽  
Feiyue Wang ◽  
Pinhua Xie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Central China ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Enhanced Production ◽  
Mercury Transport ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Haze Days

Abstract. Long-term continuous measurements of speciated atmospheric mercury were conducted at Hefei, a mid-latitude inland city in east central China, from July 2013 to June 2014. The mean concentrations (± standard deviation) of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) and particle-bound mercury (PBM) were 3.95 ± 1.93 ng m−3, 2.49 ± 2.41 pg m−3 and 23.3 ± 90.8 pg m−3, respectively, during non-haze days, and 4.74 ± 1.62 ng m−3, 4.32 ± 8.36 pg m−3 and 60.2 ± 131.4 pg m−3, respectively, during haze days. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis suggested that the atmospheric mercury pollution during haze days was caused primarily by local mercury emissions, instead of via long-range mercury transport. In addition, the disadvantageous diffussion during haze days will also enhance the level of atmospheric mercury. Compared to the GEM and RGM, change in PBM was more sensitive to the haze pollution. The mean PBM concentration during haze days was 2.5 times that during non-haze days due to elevated concentrations of particulate matter. A remarkable seasonal trend in PBM was observed with concentration decreasing in the following order in response to the frequency of haze days: autumn, winter, spring, summer. A distinct diurnal relationship was found between GEM and RGM during haze days, with the peak values of RGM coinciding with the decline in GEM. Using HgOH as an intermediate product during GEM oxidation, our results suggest that NO2 aggregation with HgOH could explain the enhanced production of RGM during the daytime in haze days. Increasing level of NOx will potentially accelerate the oxidation of GEM despite the decrease of solar radiation.

Gaseous mercury in coastal urban areas

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (6) ◽  
pp. 537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne L. Soerensen ◽  
Henrik Skov ◽  
Matthew S. Johnson ◽  
Marianne Glasius
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Mercury Deposition ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Gaseous Mercury ◽  
Range Transport ◽  
Aquatic Food

Environmental context Mercury is a neurotoxin that bioaccumulates in the aquatic food web. Atmospheric emissions from urban areas close to the coast could cause increased local mercury deposition to the ocean. Our study adds important new data to the current limited knowledge on atmospheric mercury emissions and dynamics in coastal urban areas. Abstract Approximately 50% of primary atmospheric mercury emissions are anthropogenic, resulting from e.g. emission hotspots in urban areas. Emissions from urban areas close to the coast are of interest because they could increase deposition loads to nearby coastal waters as well as contribute to long range transport of mercury. We present results from measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) in 15 coastal cities and their surrounding marine boundary layer (MBL). An increase of 15–90% in GEM concentration in coastal urban areas was observed compared with the remote MBL. Strong RGM enhancements were only found in two cities. In urban areas with statistically significant GEM/CO enhancement ratios, slopes between 0.0020 and 0.0087 ng m–3 ppb–1 were observed, which is consistent with other observations of anthropogenic enhancement. The emission ratios were used to estimate GEM emissions from the areas. A closer examination of data from Sydney (Australia), the coast of Chile, and Valparaiso region (Chile) in the southern hemisphere, is presented.

scholarly journals Emissions of mercury in southern Africa derived from long-term observations at Cape Point, South Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 7465-7474 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.-G. Brunke ◽  
R. Ebinghaus ◽  
H. H. Kock ◽  
C. Labuschagne ◽  
F. Slemr
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Electricity Consumption ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Emission Inventories ◽  
Pronounced Difference ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Co Emission ◽  
Emission Ratios

Abstract. Mercury emissions in South Africa have so far been estimated only by a bottom-up approach from activities and emission factors for different processes. In this paper we derive GEM/CO (GEM being gaseous elemental mercury, Hg0), GEM/CO2, GEM/CH4, CO/CO2, CH4/CO2, and CH4/CO emission ratios from plumes observed during long-term monitoring of these species at Cape Point between March 2007 and December 2009. The average observed GEM/CO, GEM/CO2, GEM/CH4, CO/CO2, CH4/CO2, and CH4/CO emission ratios were 2.40 ± 2.65 pg m−3 ppb−1 (n = 47), 62.7 ± 80.2 pg m−3 ppm−1 (n = 44), 3.61 ± 4.66 pg m−3 ppb−1 (n = 46), 35.6 ± 25.4 ppb ppm−1 (n = 52), 20.2 ± 15.5 ppb ppm−1 (n = 48), and 0.876 ± 1.106 ppb ppb−1 (n = 42), respectively. The observed CO/CO2, CH4/CO2, and CH4/CO emission ratios agree within the combined uncertainties of the observations and emissions with the ratios calculated from EDGAR (version 4.2) CO2, CO, and CH4 inventories for South Africa and southern Africa (South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique) in 2007 and 2008 (inventories for 2009 are not available yet). Total elemental mercury emission of 13.1, 15.2, and 16.1 t Hg yr−1 are estimated independently using the GEM/CO, GEM/CO2, and GEM/CH4 emission ratios and the annual mean CO, CO2, and CH4 emissions, respectively, of South Africa in 2007 and 2008. The average of these independent estimates of 14.8 t GEM yr−1 is much less than the total emission of 257 t Hg yr−1 shown by older inventories which are now considered to be wrong. Considering the uncertainties of our emission estimate, of the emission inventories, and the fact that emission of GEM represents 50–78 % of all mercury emissions, our estimate is comparable to the currently cited GEM emissions in 2004 and somewhat smaller than emissions in 2006. A further increase of mercury emissions due to increasing electricity consumption will lead to a more pronounced difference. A quantitative assessment of the difference and its significance, however, will require emission inventories for the years of observations (2007–2009) as well as better data on the speciation of the total mercury emissions in South Africa.

scholarly journals Method development estimating ambient oxidized mercury concentration from monitored mercury wet deposition

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 11287-11293 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Chen ◽  
X. Qiu ◽  
L. Zhang ◽  
F. Yang ◽  
P. Blanchard
Keyword(s):  
Distribution Function ◽  
Beta Distribution ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Method Development ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Mercury Deposition ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Spatial Coverage ◽  
Beta Distribution Function

Abstract. To quantify mercury dry deposition, the Atmospheric Mercury Network (AMNet) of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) was established recently to monitor the speciated atmospheric mercury (i.e. gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) and particulate-bound mercury (PBM)). However, the spatial coverage of AMNet is far less than the long-established Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) for wet deposition monitoring. The present study describes the first attempt linking ambient concentration of the oxidized mercury (GOM + PBM) with wet deposition aiming to estimate GOM + PBM roughly at locations and/or times where such measurement is not available but where wet deposition is monitored. The beta distribution function is used to describe the distribution of GOM + PBM and is used to predict GOM + PBM from monitored wet deposition. The mean, median, mode, standard deviation, and skewness of the fitted beta distribution parameters were generated using data collected in 2009 at multiple monitoring superstations. The established beta distribution function from the 2009 GOM + PBM data is used to construct a model that predicts GOM + PBM from wet deposition data. The model is validated using 2010 data at multiple stations, and the predicted monthly GOM + PBM concentrations agree reasonably well with measurements. The model has many potential applications after further improvements and validation using different data sets.

scholarly journals Worldwide trend of atmospheric mercury since 1995

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 2355-2375 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Slemr ◽  
E.-G. Brunke ◽  
R. Ebinghaus ◽  
J. Kuss
Keyword(s):  
Trace Gases ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Emissions Reductions ◽  
Mercury Emissions ◽  
Major Shift ◽  
Intermittent Measurements ◽  
Long Term Monitoring ◽  
Term Monitoring

Abstract. Concern about the adverse effects of mercury on human health and ecosystems has led to tightening emission controls since the mid 1980s. But the resulting mercury emissions reductions in many parts of the world are believed to be offset or even surpassed by the increasing emissions in rapidly industrializing countries. Consequently, concentrations of atmospheric mercury are expected to remain roughly constant. Here we show that the worldwide atmospheric mercury concentration have decreased by about 20 to 38% since 1996 as indicated by long term monitoring at stations in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres combined with intermittent measurements of latitudinal distribution over the Atlantic Ocean. The total reduction of the atmospheric mercury burden of this magnitude within 14 yrs is unprecedented among most of atmospheric trace gases and is at odds with the current mercury emission inventories with nearly constant emissions over the period. It suggests a major shift in the biogeochemical cycle of mercury including oceans and soil reservoirs. Decreasing reemissions from the legacy of historical mercury emissions are the most likely explanation for this decline since the hypothesis of an accelerated oxidation rate of elemental mercury in the atmosphere is not supported by the observed trends of other trace gases. Consequently, models of the atmospheric mercury cycle have to include soil and ocean mercury pools and their dynamics to be able to make projections of future trends.

scholarly journals Global deposition of speciated atmospheric mercury to terrestrial surfaces: an overview

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Peisheng Zhou ◽  
Shuzhen Cao ◽  
Yu Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Dry Deposition ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Observation System ◽  
Mercury Deposition ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury

Abstract. One of the most important processes in the global mercury biogeochemical cycling is the deposition of atmospheric mercury, including gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), and particulate-bound mercury (PBM), to terrestrial surfaces. In this paper, methods for the observation of wet, dry, litterfall, throughfall, and cloud/fog deposition and models for mercury dry deposition are reviewed. Surrogate surface methods with cation exchange membranes are widely used for GOM dry deposition measurements, while observation methods for GEM dry deposition are more diverse. The methodology for Hg wet deposition is more mature, but the influence of cloud/fog scavenging is easy to neglect. Dry deposition models for speciated mercury have high uncertainties owing to the presence of sensitive parameters related to GOM chemical forms. Observation networks for mercury wet deposition have been developed worldwide, with the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) covering the northern hemisphere, the tropics, and the southern hemisphere. Wet deposition implies the spatial distribution of atmospheric mercury pollution, while GOM dry deposition depends highly on the elevation. Litterfall Hg deposition is crucial to forests. Urban areas have high wet deposition and PBM dry deposition because of high reactive mercury levels. Grasslands and forests have significant GOM and GEM dry deposition, respectively. Evergreen broadleaf forests bear high litterfall Hg deposition. Future research needs have been proposed based on the current knowledge of global mercury deposition to terrestrial surfaces.

scholarly journals Measurements of atmospheric mercury species at a German rural background site from 2009 to 2011 – methods and results

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Weigelt ◽  
Christian Temme ◽  
Elke Bieber ◽  
Andreas Schwerin ◽  
Maik Schuetze ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Atmospheric Mercury ◽  
Pollution Monitoring ◽  
Mercury Species ◽  
Total Gaseous Mercury ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Rural Background ◽  
Background Site ◽  
Gaseous Mercury

Environmental context Mercury is a very hazardous substance for human and environmental health. Systematic long-term direct measurements in the atmosphere can provide valuable information about the effect of emission controls on the global budget of atmospheric mercury, and offer insight into source–receptor transboundary transport of mercury. A complete setup for the measurement of the four most relevant atmospheric mercury species (total gaseous mercury, gaseous oxidised mercury, particle-bound mercury, and gaseous elemental mercury) has been operating at the rural background site of Waldhof, Germany, since 2009. We present the dataset for 2009–2011, the first full-speciation time series for atmospheric mercury reported in Central Europe. Abstract Measurements of mercury species started in 2009 at the air pollution monitoring site ‘Waldhof’ of the German Federal Environmental Agency. Waldhof (52°48′N, 10°45′E) is a rural background site located in the northern German lowlands in a flat terrain, 100km south-east of Hamburg. The temporally highly resolved measurements of total gaseous mercury (TGM), gaseous oxidised mercury (GOM), particle-bound mercury (PBMPM2.5, with particulate matter of a diameter of ≤2.5µm) and gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) cover the period from 2009 to 2011. The complete measurement procedure turned out to be well applicable to detect GOM and PBMPM2.5 levels in the range of 0.4 to 65pgm–3. As the linearity of the analyser was proven to be constant over orders of magnitude, even larger concentrations can be measured accurately. The 3-year median concentration of GEM is found to be 1.61ngm–3, representing typical northern hemispheric background concentrations. With 6.3pgm–3, the 3-year average concentration of PBMPM2.5 is found to be approximately six times higher than the 3-year average GOM concentration. During winter the PBMPM2.5 concentration is on average twice as high as the PBMPM2.5 summer concentration, whereas the GOM concentration shows no clear seasonality. However, on a comparatively low level, a significant diurnal cycle is shown for GOM concentrations. This cycle is most likely related to photochemical oxidation mechanisms. Comparison with selected North American long-term mercury speciation datasets shows that the Waldhof 3-year median speciated mercury data represent typical rural background values.

scholarly journals <sup>222</sup>Rn calibrated mercury fluxes from terrestrial surface of southern Africa derived from observations at Cape Point, South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 8213-8231
Author(s):  
F. Slemr ◽  
E.-G. Brunke ◽  
S. Whittlestone ◽  
W. Zahorowski ◽  
R. Ebinghaus ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Southern Africa ◽  
Standard Error ◽  
Wet Deposition ◽  
Emission Rate ◽  
Elemental Mercury ◽  
Gaseous Elemental Mercury ◽  
Emission Ratio ◽  
Mercury Fluxes ◽  
Almost All

Abstract. Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and 222Rn, a radioactive gas of primarily terrestrial origin with a half-life of 3.8 days, have been measured simultaneously at Cape Point, South Africa, since March 2007. Between March 2007 and December 2011 altogether 191 events with high 222Rn concentrations were identified. GEM correlated with 222Rn in 94 of the events and was constant during almost all the remaining events without significant correlation. The average GEM/222Rn emission ratio of all events including the non-significant ones was −0.0001 &amp;pm; 0.0030 pg mBq−1, with 0.0030 pg mBq−1 being the standard error of the average. With an emission rate of 1.1 222Rn atoms cm−2 s−1 and a correction for the transport duration, this emission ratio corresponds to a radon calibrated flux of about −0.01 ng GEM m−2 h−1 with a standard error of &amp;pm;0.34 ng GEM m−2 h−1 (n = 191). With wet deposition, which is not included in this estimate, the terrestrial surface of southern Africa seems to be a net mercury sink of about −1.01 ng m−2 h−1.

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