Seasonal and Diurnal Variations of Total Gaseous Mercury in Urban Houston, TX, USA

X, Lan; Talbot, R. W.; Laine, Patrick; Lefer, B. L.; Flynn, James; Torres, Azucena

doi:10.3390/atmos5020399

Cited by 17 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…53 Monthly average Hg(0) data were obtained from. 4,6,43,44,[54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] Normal Differenced Vegetation Index, (NDVI) were obtained from the NASA Earth 63 The monthly cement production in China was considered constant throughout the year. 64 Normalization of monthly Hg concentration and emission data.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A vegetation control on seasonal variations in global atmospheric mercury concentrations

et al. 2018

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Anthropogenic mercury emissions are transported through the atmosphere as gaseous elemental mercury (Hg(0)) prior to deposition to Earth's surface. Strong seasonality in atmospheric Hg(0) concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere has been explained by two factors: anthropogenic Hg(0) emissions are thought to peak in winter due to higher energy consumption, and atmospheric oxidation rates of Hg(0) are faster in summer. Oxidationdriven Hg(0) seasonality should be equally pronounced in the Southern Hemisphere, which is inconsistent with observations of constant year-round Hg(0) levels. Here, we assess the role of Hg(0) uptake by vegetation as an alternative mechanism for driving Hg(0) seasonality. We find that at terrestrial sites in the Northern Hemisphere, Hg(0) co-varies with CO2, which is

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A vegetation control on seasonal variations in global atmospheric mercury concentrations

et al. 2018

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“…Ship Channel area, where over 400 chemical manufacturing facilities and two of the four largest chemical refineries in the USA reside [14]. The UH_CC site is a ground level coastal site located in central Galveston County, 22 km northwest of the Gulf of Mexico, 48 km southeast of the UH_MT site, 15 km west of the Texas City industrial refinery area, and 45 km south of the Houston Ship Channel area.…”

Section: Sampling Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Upon its release from the denuder surface, the 2537A measures the GOM released. The particulate mercury unit, Model 1135, provides mixing ratios of PBM for particulate matter (PM) <2.5 µ m. The fine particles are then trapped on a quartz particulate filter and released with each thermal [14]. The UH_CC site is a ground level coastal site located in central Galveston County, 22 km northwest of the Gulf of Mexico, 48 km southeast of the UH_MT site, 15 km west of the Texas City industrial refinery area, and 45 km south of the Houston Ship Channel area.…”

Section: Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of Atmospheric Mercury Speciation at a Coastal and an Urban Site in Southeastern Texas, USA

et al. 2020

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Sixteen months of continuous measurements and the analysis of atmospheric mercury (gaseous elemental mercury GEM, gaseous oxidized mercury GOM, and particulate bound mercury PBM) under urban and coastal settings were conducted in Southeastern Texas. At the urban site, the GEM mean mixing ratio was 185 ppqv, 5%–10% higher than the Northern Hemisphere GEM background level. GOM and PBM mixing ratios were as much as six times higher than their background level. The coastal site GEM mean mixing ratio was 165 ppqv, higher than other coastal sites located in the Northern Hemisphere. GOM and PBM mean mixing ratios at the coastal site were 0.75 ppqv and 0.58 ppqv. The urban site had a higher frequency of high mercury events (>300 ppqv) compared to the coastal site. The diurnal patterns were found for both sites: In the urban environment, GEM accumulated to the maximum mixing ratio just after sunrise and decreased to the minimum mixing ratio in late afternoon. In the coastal environment, GEM decreased at night reaching its minimum mixing ratio before sunrise. The relationship between atmospheric mercury species and meteorological parameters was investigated. An examination of the relationship between atmospheric mercury species and key trace gases was conducted as well, showing that the concurrence of GEM, CO2, CO, CH4, and SO2 maximum mixing ratios was notable and provided evidence they may originate from the same emission source. The coastal site was at times influenced by polluted air from urban Houston and the cleaner Gulf of Mexico marine air at other times.

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“…We analyzed the meteorological factors as local temperature, wind direction, wind speed, pressure, atmospheric circulation and the land-sea breeze. The procedures for the O3 and CO analysis are provided in [37]. Sea-level pressure was provided by the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis datasets.…”

Section: And 1996mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Climate Change and Meteorological Factors on Houston’s Air Pollution: Ozone a Case Study

Liu

Talbot

2015

Atmosphere

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Abstract:We examined the past 23 years of ground-level O3 data and selected meteorological parameters in Houston, Texas, which historically has been one of the most polluted cities in the United States. Both 1-h and 8-h O3 exceedances have been reduced significantly down to single digit yearly occurrences. We also found that the frequency of southerly flow has increased by a factor of ~2.5 over the period 1990-2013, likely suppressing O3 photochemistry and leading to a "cleaner" Houston environment. The sea breeze was enhanced greatly from 1990 to 2013 due to increasing land surface temperatures, increased pressure gradients, and slightly stronger on-shore winds. These patterns driven by climate change produce a strengthening of the sea breeze, which should be a general result at locations worldwide.

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Seasonal and Diurnal Variations of Total Gaseous Mercury in Urban Houston, TX, USA

Cited by 17 publications

References 48 publications

A vegetation control on seasonal variations in global atmospheric mercury concentrations

A vegetation control on seasonal variations in global atmospheric mercury concentrations

Comparison of Atmospheric Mercury Speciation at a Coastal and an Urban Site in Southeastern Texas, USA

Influence of Climate Change and Meteorological Factors on Houston’s Air Pollution: Ozone a Case Study

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