SOURCES OF MERCURY IN THE ARCTIC

Abstract. Global and regional emission inventories of mercury are reviewed with special emphasis on the source regions with potential impact on the Arctic environment. These sources are located mostly in Eurasia and North America and emit almost 1300 t of rig to the air annually. Combustion of fossi...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: J. M. Pacyna, G. J. Keeler
Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
Format: Text
Language:English
Subjects:
Online Access:http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.473.560
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/43916/11270_2005_Article_BF01189714.pdf?sequence=1
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Summary:Abstract. Global and regional emission inventories of mercury are reviewed with special emphasis on the source regions with potential impact on the Arctic environment. These sources are located mostly in Eurasia and North America and emit almost 1300 t of rig to the air annually. Combustion of fossil fuels to produce electricity and heat is the major source of rig. Major portion of the element emissions from this source is in a gaseous phase. A small portion of Hg emissions in Eurasia and North America is deposited in the Arctic region, perhaps 60 to 80 t annually. Additional amounts of Hg in the Arctic air originate from natural sources, although it is very difficult to quantify them. A small decrease of anthropogenic Hg emissions is observed in Europe at present. These emissions are expected toincrease again in the near future. 1.