Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

Huang, Jie; Kang, Shichang; Tian, Lide; Guo, Junming; Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan; Sillanpää, Mika; Sun, Shiwei; Tripathee, Lekhendra

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.177

Cited by 25 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 59 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…During the non-monsoon season (from October to April), the large-scale atmospheric circulation on the Tibetan Plateau is mainly under the control of westerly winds, which largely come from the inland areas of Central Asia, presenting a drier season in Lhasa during this time (Huang et al, 2010;Guo et al, 2015). According to previous studies, the air quality in Lhasa may be influenced by local emissions from anthropogenic activities (e.g., power plants, cement facilities, vehicular traffic, and religious activities) (Li et al, 2008;Cong et al, 2011;Huang et al, 2010;Guo et al, 2015;Luo et al, 2016;Li et al, 2016b) and long-range transboundary atmospheric transport (Huang et al, 2016a;Huang et al, 2016b).…”

Section: Atmospheric Hg Monitoring Sitesmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…To better understand the transport paths of atmospheric GEM, the Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model was used to calculate backward trajectories (Stein et al, 2015;Chai et al, 2017;Chai et al, 2016;Hurst and Davis, 2017;Lin et al, 2019). The HYSPLIT model (https://www.arl.noaa.gov/hysplit/hysplit/) is a hybrid approach that combines Lagrangian and Eulerian methods, which was developed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a tool to explain the transport, dispersion, and deposition of particles in the atmosphere.…”

Section: Backward Trajectory Simulation and Potential Source Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Predictably, Hg species concentrations were generally lower on the Tibetan Plateau, while background areas with few populations on the Plateau were lower than those on the plains in mainland China, and cities on the Plateau were lower than those on the plains. Although the transboundary transport of pollutants has received considerable notice (Huang et al, 2016b;Lin et al, 2019;, the comparison between QNNP and Lhasa indicates that the contribution of local anthropogenic sources may be significant for atmospheric pollutant concentrations. The comparison also suggests that atmospheric Hg emissions from urban residential life may be an important source that can be valuable in inventory studies.…”

Section: Comparison Of Three Typical Sites On the Tibetan Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Unexpectedly high concentrations of atmospheric mercury species in Lhasa, the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau

Lin

Tong²,

Chen³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Lhasa City is located in the central Tibetan Plateau and is the most densely populated area. As the first continuous monitoring of atmospheric mercury (Hg) species in a city on the Tibetan Plateau, our monitoring in Lhasa showed that the concentrations of gaseous elemental Hg (GEM), gaseous oxidized Hg (GOM), and particle-bound Hg (PBM) during subsequent of the Indian Summer Monsoon (S-ISM) period were 2.73 ± 1.48 ng m-3, 38.4 ± 62.7 pg m-3, and 59.1 ± 181.0 pg m-3, respectively. During the Westerly Circulation (WEC) period, the GEM, GOM and PBM concentrations were 2.11 ± 2.09 ng m-3, 35.8 ± 43.3 pg m-3, and 52.9 ± 90.1 pg m-3, respectively. The atmospheric Hg species concentrations were higher than those of previous monitoring on the Tibetan Plateau and other provincial capitals in China. Typical high-value occurrence processes were studied to investigate random events with high atmospheric Hg concentrations in Lhasa. Combustion event nearby or further away may be the main contributor of the high-concentration events. The lowest GEM concentrations occurred in the afternoon and persistently high concentrations were observed at night. The changes in GEM concentrations were consistent with the trends of other pollutant concentrations and contradictory to those of the wind speed. The high GEM concentrations at night can be attributed to the lower boundary layer height and lower wind speed. For both GOM and PBM, higher GOM concentrations occurred during the day and PBM during the night. The results of the principal component analysis indicated that local sources and wind speed are important factors influencing atmospheric Hg concentrations in Lhasa. The trajectory simulation showed that the source of the GEM in Lhasa gradually shifted from the south to the west of Lhasa from the S-ISM to the WEC periods, while both the southern and western sources were important in the late WEC period. The concentrations and change patterns of Hg species in Lhasa were significantly different than those at other monitoring sites on the Tibetan Plateau. Monitoring Hg species in Lhasa shows the possible maximum anthropogenic influences on the Tibetan Plateau and demonstrates the dramatic effect of wind on changes in urban atmospheric Hg concentrations.

show abstract

Section: Atmospheric Hg Monitoring Sitesmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Backward Trajectory Simulation and Potential Source Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Comparison Of Three Typical Sites On the Tibetan Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Unexpectedly high concentrations of atmospheric mercury species in Lhasa, the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau

Lin

Tong²,

Chen³

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…For example, our previous study in the QNNP, on the southern border of the Tibetan Plateau, proved that atmospheric Hg from the Indian subcontinent can be transported across high-altitude mountains, and directly to the Tibetan Plateau under the action of the Indian monsoon and local glacier winds (Lin et al, 2019). Studies of water vapor mercury and wet deposition of Hg in cities such as Lhasa have demonstrated higher concentrations of Hg species (Huang et al, , 2016b. But the monitoring of atmospheric Hg speciation is still rare.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First observation of mercury species on an important water vapor channel in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Lin

Tong

et al. 2022

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau is generally considered to be a significantly clean area owing to its high altitude; however, the transport of atmospheric pollutants from the Indian subcontinent to the Tibetan Plateau has influenced the Tibetan environments. Nyingchi is located at the end of an important water vapor channel. In this study, continuous monitoring of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM), and particle-bound mercury (PBM) was conducted in Nyingchi from 30 March to 3 September 2019, to study the influence of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) on the origin, transport, and behavior of Hg. The GEM and PBM during the preceding Indian summer monsoon (PISM) period (1.20±0.35 ng m−3 and 11.4±4.8 pg m−3 for GEM and PBM, respectively) were significantly higher than those during the ISM period (0.95±0.21 ng m−3, and 8.8±6.0 pg m−3); the GOM during the PISM period (13.5±7.3 pg m−3) was almost at the same level as that during the ISM period (12.7±14.3 pg m−3). The average GEM concentration in the Nyingchi region, obtained using passive sampler, was 1.12±0.28 ng m−3 (from 4 April 2019 to 31 March 2020). The GEM concentration showed that the sampling area was very clean compared to other high-altitude sites. The GEM has several patterns of diurnal variation during different periods. Stable high GEM concentrations occur at night and low concentrations occur in the afternoon during PISM, which may be related to the nocturnal boundary layer structure. High values occurring in the late afternoon during the ISM may be related to long-range transport. Low concentrations of GEM observed during the morning in the ISM may originate from vegetation effects. The results of the trajectory model demonstrate that the sources of pollutants at Nyingchi are different with different circulation patterns. During westerly circulation in the PISM period, pollutants mainly originate from central India, northeastern India, and central Tibet. During the ISM period, the pollutants mainly originate from the southern part of the SET site. The strong precipitation and vegetation effects on Hg species during the ISM resulted in low Hg concentrations transmitted to Nyingchi during this period. Further, principal component analysis showed that long-distance transport, local emissions, meteorological factors, and snowmelt factors are the main factors affecting the local Hg concentration in Nyingchi. Long-distance transport factor dominates during PISM and ISM3, while local emissions is the major contributor between PISM and ISM3. Our results reveal the Hg species distribution and possible sources of the most important water vapor channel in the Tibetan Plateau and could serve as a basis for further transboundary transport flux calculations.

show abstract

“…Earlier studies have suggested that Indian monsoon intrusion is mainly responsible for the transboundary Hg pollution from South Asia to the Himalaya-Tibet (Huang et al, 2016, Huang, Kang, Yin, Lin, et al, 2020Kang et al, 2016Kang et al, , 2019Yu et al, 2022). However, the extent of Indian monsoon influence on atmospheric Hg transport remains unknown.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Northward Extent of Atmospheric Mercury Transboundary Transport to the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau Region

Huang

Kang

Feng

et al. 2023

Geophysical Research Letters

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Indian monsoon circulation is the primary driver of the long‐range transboundary mercury (Hg) pollution from South Asia to the Himalayas and Tibet Plateau region, yet the northward extent of this transport remains unknown. In this study, a strong δ202Hg signature overlapping was found between Lake Gokyo and Indian anthropogenic sources, which is an indicative of the Hg source regions from South Asia. Most of the sediment samples were characterized with relatively large positive Δ199Hg values (mean = 0.07‰–0.44‰) and small positive Δ200Hg values (mean = 0.03‰–0.08‰). Notably, the Δ199Hg values in the lake sediments progressively increased from southwest to northeast. Moreover, the Δ199Hg values peaked at Lake Tanglha (mean = 0.44‰ ± 0.04‰) before decreased at Lake Qinghai that is under the influence of the westerlies. Our results suggest that transboundary atmospheric transport could transport Hg from South Asia northwards to at least the Tanglha Mountains in the northern Himalaya‐Tibet.

show abstract

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

Cited by 25 publications

References 59 publications

Unexpectedly high concentrations of atmospheric mercury species in Lhasa, the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau

Unexpectedly high concentrations of atmospheric mercury species in Lhasa, the largest city on the Tibetan Plateau

First observation of mercury species on an important water vapor channel in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

Northward Extent of Atmospheric Mercury Transboundary Transport to the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau Region

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About