Atmospheric mercury depletion event study in Ny-Alesund (Svalbard) in spring 2005. Deposition and transformation of Hg in surface snow during springtime

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: P. Ferrari, Christophe, Padova, Cyril, Faïn, Xavier, Gauchard, Pierre-Alexis, Dommergue, Aurélien, Aspmo, Katrine, Berg, Torunn, Cairns, Warren, Barbante, Carlo, Cescon, Paolo, Kaleschke, Lars, Richter, Andreas, Wittrock, Folkard, Boutron, Claude
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB Université de Savoie Université de Chambéry )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Polytech' Grenoble, Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF), Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Department of Chemistry Oslo, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences Oslo, University of Oslo (UiO)-University of Oslo (UiO), Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, University of Ca’ Foscari Venice, Italy, Environmental Sciences Department, Institute of Oceanography Hamburg, University of Hamburg, Institute of Environmental Physics Bremen (IUP), University of Bremen, Unité de Formation et de Recherche de Physique
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2008
• Subjects: Mercury; Snow; Deposition; Chemical transformation; AMDEs; [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Arctic; Norway; Svalbard
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00378389; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2008.01.064

International audience A field campaign was conducted in Ny-Ǻlesund (78°54'N, 11°53'E), Svalbard (Norway) during April and May 2005. An Atmospheric Mercury (Hg) Depletion Event (AMDE) was observed from the morning of April 24 until the evening of April 27. Transport of already Hg and ozone (O3) depleted air masses could explain this observed depletion. Due to a snowfall event during the AMDE, surface snow Hg concentrations increased two fold. Hg deposition took place over a short period of time corresponding to 3–4 days. More than 80% of the deposited Hg was estimated to be reemitted back to the atmosphere in the days following the event. During the campaign, we observed night and day variations in surface snow Hg concentrations, which may be the result of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) oxidation to divalent Hg at the snow/air interface by daylight surface snow chemistry. Finally, a decrease in the reactive Hg (HgR) fraction of total Hg (HgT) in the surface snow was observed during spring. We postulate that the transformation of HgR to a more stable form may occur in Arctic snow during spring.