The study of the mercury cycle in polar regions: An international study in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard

• Main Authors: Ferrari, Christophe, Gauchard, Pierre-Alexis, Magand, Olivier, Aspmo, Katrine, Temme, Christian, Steffen, Alexandra, Berg, Torunn, Strom, Johan, Dommergue, Aurelien, Bahlmann, Enno, Planchon, Frédéric, Ebinghaus, Ralf, Banic, Cathy, Nagorski, Sonia, Baussand, Patrick, Amato, Pierre, Fain, Xavier, Hennebelle, Raphaelle, Delort, A.M., Sancelme, Martine, Cairns, Warren, Barbante, Carlo, Cescon, Paolo, Kaleschke, Lars, 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), 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)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-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 ), Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), GKSS-Research Center, Institute for Coastal Research, Air Quality Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Institute of Applied Environmental Research Stockholm (ITM), Stockholm University, Environmental Sciences Department, University of Ca’ Foscari Venice, Italy, Groupe de Recherche sur l'Environnement et la Chimie Atmosphérique (GRECA), Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF), Laboratoire de météorologie physique (LaMP), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS), Synthèse et étude de systèmes à intêret biologique (SEESIB), Université Blaise Pascal - Clermont-Ferrand 2 (UBP)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC), Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, Institute of Environmental Physics Bremen (IUP), University of Bremen
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2006
• Subjects: [SDU.STU.GL]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Glaciology; Svalbard; Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00381216

International audience Mercury (Hg) is a toxic pollutant and it can be strongly accumulated in the food chain, especially in Polar Regions. This paper presents a part of the work that has been on-going for 3-4 years in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard within the frame of an international collaboration. In Ny-Alesund in spring 2003, the atmospheric chemistry of mercury has been studied so as to better understand the formation of oxidized mercury species in the atmosphere that could be deposited onto snow surfaces. The role of snow as a potential source of mercury to the atmosphere or as a sink has also been approached to better understand the behavior of this metal. Chemical and biological processes seem to play a major role in Hg storage in snow. When melting, snow could be a major source of Hg into the various ecosystems and this toxin could therefore be accumulated into the food chain.