Polar firn air reveals large-scale impact of anthropogenic mercury emissions during the 1970s

Faïn, Xavier; Ferrari, Christophe; Dommergue, Aurélien; Albert, M. R.; Battle, Mark; Severinghaus, J. P.; Arnaud, Laurent; Barnola, Jean-Marc; Cairns, Warren R. L.; Barbante, Carlo; Boutron, Claude F.

doi:10.1073/pnas.0905117106

Cited by 68 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…The sediment, peat, and ice core studies suggest that the mercury deposition peaked between 1950 and 1990 at a majority of sites (Schuster et al, 2002;Biester et al, 2007;Muir et al, 2009;Mast et al, 2010), although it is still increasing at some locations (Fitzgerald et al, 2005). The firn study by Fain et al (2009) suggests that the mercury concentration in air peaked at around 1970. The decreasing emissions from the legacy of historical mercury use and emissions thus appear to be the most plausible explanation for the observed trend.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worldwide trend of atmospheric mercury since 1995

Šlemr¹,

et al. 2011

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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 concentrations have decreased by about 20 to 38 %

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worldwide trend of atmospheric mercury since 1995

Šlemr¹,

et al. 2011

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“…In order to retrieve a history of atmospheric Hg 0 at middle and high northern latitudes, Hg 0 was measured in the interstitial air of firn (perennial snowpack) in the Greenland icecap. From this record, it has been shown that anthropogenic emissions caused a two-fold increase in boreal atmospheric Hg 0 concentrations before the 1970s, which possibly contributed to higher deposition rates of mercury both in industrialized and remote areas (Faïn et al, 2008(Faïn et al, , 2009.…”

Section: F Sprovieri Et Al: a Review Of Worldwide Atmospheric Mercumentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of worldwide atmospheric mercury measurements

Sprovieri

Pirrone

Ebinghaus³

et al. 2010

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

229

172

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Abstract.A large number of activities have been carried out to characterise the levels of mercury (Hg) species in ambient air and precipitation, in order to understand how they vary over time and how they depend on meteorological conditions. Following the discovery of atmospheric Hg depletion events (AMDEs) in Polar Regions, a significant research effort was made to assess the chemical-physical mechanisms behind the rapid conversion of atmospheric gaseous Hg (Hg 0 ) into reactive and water-soluble forms which are potentially bioavailable. The understanding of the way in which Hg is released into the atmosphere, transformed, deposited and eventually incorporated into biota is of crucial importance not only for the polar regions but also for the marine environment in general. The oceans and seas are both sources and sinks of Hg and play a major role in the Hg cycle. In this work, the available Hg concentration datasets from a number of terrestrial sites (industrial, rural and remote) in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres as well as over oceans and seas have been investigated. The higher Hg species concentration and variability observed in the Northern Hemisphere suggest that the majority of emissions and re-emissions occur there. The inter-hemispherical gradient with higher total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere has remained nearly constant over the years for which data are available. The analysis of Hg concentration patterns indicates the differences in regional source/sink characteristics, with increasing variability toward areas strongly influenced by anthropogenic sources. The large increase in Hg emissions in rapidly developing countries (i.e., China, India) over the last decade, due primar-ily to a sharp increase in energy production from coal combustion, are not currently reflected in the long-term measurements of TGM in ambient air and precipitation at continuous monitoring sites in either Northern Europe or North America. The discrepancy between observed gaseous Hg concentrations (steady or decreasing) and global Hg emission inventories (increasing) has not yet been explained, though the potential oxidation of the atmosphere during the last decade is increasing. Currently, however, a coordinated observational network for Hg does not exist.

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“…Snowpack ventilation can, depending on the snowpack's permeability and the strength of the ventilation-driving turbulence (Kuhn, 2001;Albert and Shultz, 2002;Domine et al, 2008), extend to depths of 50-100 cm (Domine et al, 2008). Molecular diffusion, which is active at even greater depths (Faïn et al, 2009), continuously transfers mercury vertically.…”

Section: Snowpack/meltwater Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Faïn et al (2009) used a diffusion model to deduce atmospheric GEM concentrations from 1940 to 2006 from concentrations of GEM in firn air. Poulain et al (2007b) presented a mass balance for mercury in snowpacks that considered wet and dry depositions and throughfall as sources and revolatilization and snowmelt as sinks.…”

Section: Durnford Et Al: Modelling the Fate Of Mercury Deposited mentioning

confidence: 99%

How relevant is the deposition of mercury onto snowpacks? – Part 2: A modeling study

Durnford¹,

Dastoor

Ryzhkov

et al. 2012

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. An unknown fraction of mercury that is deposited onto snowpacks is revolatilized to the atmosphere. Determining the revolatilized fraction is important since mercury that enters the snowpack meltwater may be converted to highly toxic bioaccumulating methylmercury. In this study, we present a new dynamic physically-based snowpack/meltwater model for mercury that is suitable for large-scale atmospheric models for mercury. It represents the primary physical and chemical processes that determine the fate of mercury deposited onto snowpacks. The snowpack/meltwater model was implemented in Environment Canada's atmospheric mercury model GRAHM. For the first time, observed snowpack-related mercury concentrations are used to evaluate and constrain an atmospheric mercury model. We find that simulated concentrations of mercury in both snowpacks and the atmosphere's surface layer agree closely with observations. The simulated concentration of mercury in both in the top 30 cm and the top 150 cm of the snowpack, averaged over 2005-2009, is predominantly below 6 ng L −1 over land south of 66.5°N but exceeds 18 ng L −1 over sea ice in extensive areas of the Arctic Ocean and Hudson Bay. The average simulated concentration of mercury in snowpack meltwater runoff tends to be higher on the Russian/European side (>20 ng L −1 ) of the Arctic Ocean than on the Canadian side (<10 ng L −1 ). The correlation coefficient between observed and simulated monthly mean atmospheric surface-level gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations increased significantly with the inclusion of the new snowpack/meltwater model at two of the three stations (midlatitude, subarctic) studied and remained constant at the third (arctic). Oceanic emissions are postulated to produce the observed summertime maximum in concentrations of surface-level atmospheric GEM at Alert in the Canadian Arctic and to generate the summertime volatility observed in these concentrations at both Alert and Kuujjuarapik on subarctic Hudson Bay, Canada. We find that the fraction of deposited mercury that is revolatilized from snowpacks increases with latitude from 39 % between 30 and 45°N, to 57 % from 45 to 60°N, 67 % from 60 to 66.5°N, and 75 % polewards of 66.5°N on an annual basis. Combining this latitudinal gradient with the latitudinally increasing coverage of snowpacks causes yearly net deposition as a fraction of gross deposition to decrease from 98 % between 30 and 45°N to 89 % between 45 and 60°N, 73 % between 60 and 66.5°N, and 44 % within the Arctic Circle. The yearly net deposition and net accumulation of mercury at the surface within the Arctic Circle north of 66.5°N are estimated at 153 and 117 Mg, respectively. We calculate that 58 and 50 Mg of mercury are deposited annually to the Arctic Ocean directly and indirectly via melting snowpacks, respectively. For terrestrial surfaces within the Arctic Circle, we find that 29 and 16 Mg of mercury are deposited annually directly and indirectly via melting snowpacks, respectively. Within the Arctic Circle, multi-s...

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Polar firn air reveals large-scale impact of anthropogenic mercury emissions during the 1970s

Cited by 68 publications

References 62 publications

Worldwide trend of atmospheric mercury since 1995

Worldwide trend of atmospheric mercury since 1995

A review of worldwide atmospheric mercury measurements

How relevant is the deposition of mercury onto snowpacks? – Part 2: A modeling study

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