Atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations and mercury depositions at a high-altitude mountain peak in south China

Fu, Xuewu; Feng, Xinbin; Dong, Z. Q.; Yin, Runsheng; Wang, J. X.; Yang, Zheng; Zhang, H.

doi:10.5194/acp-10-2425-2010

Cited by 163 publications

(184 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

159

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The TGM concentration was 3.3 ± 1.4 ng m À3 , higher than the concentrations observed at most remote sites in Europe and U.S. (<2 ng m À3 ) [Choi et al, 2008;Engle et al, 2010;Kock et al, 2005;Sigler et al, 2009] and in SW and NW China (1.6-2.6 ng m À3 ) [Fu et al, 2010[Fu et al, , 2012a[Fu et al, , 2012b, but lower than the concentrations observed at urban sites in China (e.g., 4.9-8.3 ng m À3 in Beijing, 13.5 ± 7.1 ng m À3 in Guangzhou, 5.4 ± 4.1 ng m À3 in Yangtze River Delta, and 3.8 ± 1.3 ng m À3 in Ningbo) [Wang et al, 2007;Nguyen et al, 2011]. The elevated mean concentration suggests the influence from local and regional Hg emissions, with possible contributions from industrial processes (including power plants, steel plants, and cement plants) and domestic heating in industrial/urban areas in Eastern China.…”

Section: Atmospheric Concentrations Of Tgm Gom and Pbmmentioning

confidence: 98%

Characteristics and potential sources of atmospheric mercury at a subtropical near‐coastal site in East China

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

To evaluate the impact of regional mercury (Hg) emissions and understand possible source regions of atmospheric Hg in Eastern China, 2 year observation for speciated atmospheric Hg was conducted at the Dameishan Atmospheric Observatory, a mountain site near the east coast of China. The observed concentration of total gaseous Hg (TGM) was 3.3 ± 1.4 ng m À3 . During the sampling period, gaseous oxidized Hg and particulate bound Hg were 6.7 ± 4.3 pg m À3 and 180 ± 110 pg m À3 in winter and 5.9 ± 3.4 pg m À3 and 130 ± 100 pg m À3 in spring, respectively. The relatively high mean concentration of TGM was mainly caused by regional anthropogenic emissions and occasional long-range transport from domestic source regions. Seasonal variation in the TGM concentration was observed with lower values in the wet monsoon season (from May to September) and higher values in the dry monsoon season (from October to April). Backward trajectories and potential source contribution function analysis suggested that anthropogenic Hg emission from coal combustion in the Yangtze River Delta region was the most likely cause for the elevated TGM concentrations. Relatively clean air originating from the East China Sea was the most possible cause for the observed low TGM concentrations. Positive correlation between TGM concentration and air quality index suggests that emissions that influenced regional air quality contributed to the elevated TGM concentrations.

show abstract

Section: Atmospheric Concentrations Of Tgm Gom and Pbmmentioning

confidence: 98%

Characteristics and potential sources of atmospheric mercury at a subtropical near‐coastal site in East China

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The variations of meteorological parameters and criteria air pollutant concentrations could increase or decrease the TGM concentration and its chemical composition (Feng et al, 2002;Sheu et al, 2002). Such as an environment of high humidity and high wind speed could promote the TGM concentration in ambient air to remove, as O 3 concentration become higher, TGM concentration tended to decrease (Fu et al, 2009(Fu et al, , 2010. Besides, the regional sources and its characteristics might also influence the temporal variation and spatial distribution of atmospheric mercury speciation, concentration, and deposition flux Sheu, 1994, 2002;Poissant and Hoenninger, 2004;Poissant et al, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among them, the TGM could be transformed back and forth between elemental and oxidation states, ceaselessly (Sommar et al, 2001;Pal and Ariya, 2004). Even though, GEM is the major species in the ambient atmosphere, which accounts for 95-99% of TAM with a residence time of 1.5-2.0 years in the atmosphere and can transport over great distances across continents (Schroeder and Munthe, 1998;Lin and Pehkonen, 1999;Fu et al, 2010;Jen et al, 2012). As such, long-range transportation and marine dissipation of mercury in the atmosphere has been identified as the predominant source at the background and the coastal regions (Ebinghaus et al, 1999;Blanchard et al, 2002;Sheu et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mercury (Hg), one of the hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), is a persistent, toxic, and bio-accumulative heavy metal, and is currently regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency of USA (USEPA) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) (Nater and Grigal, 1992;Mason and Sheu, 1994;Schroeder and Munthe, 1998;Lin and Pehkonen, 1999;Boening, 2000;Mason and Sheu, 2002;Lin et al, 2005;Clarkson and Magos, 2006;Fu et al, 2010). Mercury and its derivatives are emitted from various natural and anthropogenic sources, as the latter being typically considered as the major sources of atmospheric mercury.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Field Measurement of Total Gaseous Mercury and Its Correlation with Meteorological Parameters and Criteria Air Pollutants at a Coastal Site of the Penghu Islands

Jen

Chen

Hung

et al. 2014

Aerosol Air Qual. Res.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigated the seasonal and daily variations of the total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentration in the ambient atmosphere, the correlation of TGM concentration with meteorological parameters (e.g., temperature, humidity, and wind speed) and criteria air pollutant concentrations (e.g., SO 2 , NO x , CO, O 3 , PM 10 , and PM 2.5 ), as well as the transportation routes, at the Penghu Islands. The field measurement results showed that the average TGM concentration during the monitoring period was 3.17 ± 1.17 ng/m 3 , within the range of 1.17-8.63 ng/m 3 , with the highest concentration being observed in spring, while the TGM concentration typically increased in the morning, reached its peak concentration, and then started to decrease at nightfall. Moreover, the lowest average TGM concentration of 1.81 ± 0.15 ng/m 3 was observed in summer, and this figure is close to the background TGM concentration of the Northern Hemisphere (1.6-1.8 ng/m 3 ). The correlation analysis indicated that TGM concentration correlated positively with SO 2 , NO x , CO, O 3 , PM 10 , PM 2.5 and negatively with ambient temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed. In addition, the transportation route analysis showed that elevated TGM concentrations could be transported from either North China, East China, or South China to the Penghu Islands, while those originating from the South China Sea had the lowest contribution to the TGM levels at the Penghu Islands. Therefore, local sources and open burning might be mainly influenced by the long-range transportation of air masses, as the prevailing wind direction and air mass transportation routes potentially play critical roles in the variation of TGM concentration at the Penghu Islands.

show abstract

“…The high Hg emission from the power plants is in part due to the elevated Hg concentrations in the coal used in the region [30,31]; with an average Hg concentration of 530 ng/g (ranging from 100-2670 ng/g), coal produced from Guizhou has the highest Hg level in China [31]). As a result, the Hg 0 concentration in ambient air in Chongqing is highly elevated with an annual average of 6.7 ng/m 3 [32], which doubles that in remote mountainous areas in the region (Mount Gongga in Sichuan 3.9 ng/m 3 [33], and Mount Leigong in Guizhou 2.8 ng/m 3 [34]), and more than triples the north hemispheric background values of < 2 ng/m 3 .…”

Section: Implications For the Three Gorges Reservoirmentioning

confidence: 94%

Mercury contamination in aquatic ecosystems under a changing environment: Implications for the Three Gorges Reservoir

Wang

Zhang

2012

Chin. Sci. Bull.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury is one of the primary contaminants of global concern. As anthropogenic emissions of mercury are gradually placed under control, evidence is emerging that biotic mercury levels in many aquatic ecosystems are increasingly driven by internal biogeochemical processes, especially in ecosystems that have been undergoing dramatic environmental changes. Here we review the unique properties of mercury that are responsible for the exceptional sensitivity of its biogeochemical cycles to changes in climatic, geochemical, biological and ecological processes. We show that, due to rapid climate warming, a shift from sources-driven to processes-driven mercury bioaccumulation is already happening in the Arctic marine ecosystem. We further suggest that such a shift might also be operating in the Three Gorges Reservoir due to changes in these biogeochemical processes induced by the damming. As a result, the effectiveness of mercury emission control is expected to be followed by long delays before ensuing reduction is seen in food-web levels, making it all the more pressing to control and reduce mercury emissions to the reservoir. Long-term monitoring and targeted studies are urgently needed to understand how biotic mercury levels in the reservoir are responding to changes in mercury emissions and in biogeochemical processes.

show abstract

Atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations and mercury depositions at a high-altitude mountain peak in south China

Cited by 163 publications

References 59 publications

Characteristics and potential sources of atmospheric mercury at a subtropical near‐coastal site in East China

Characteristics and potential sources of atmospheric mercury at a subtropical near‐coastal site in East China

Field Measurement of Total Gaseous Mercury and Its Correlation with Meteorological Parameters and Criteria Air Pollutants at a Coastal Site of the Penghu Islands

Mercury contamination in aquatic ecosystems under a changing environment: Implications for the Three Gorges Reservoir

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About