Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions
Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) measurements at Alert, Canada, from 1995 to 2007 were analyzed for statistical time trends and for correlations with meteorological and climate data. A significant decreasing trend in annual GEM concentration is reported at Alert, with an estimated slope of −0.0086 ng...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:442af22a483f40aa97f0feecd0176c11 2023-05-15T13:21:38+02:00 Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions A. S. Cole A. Steffen 2010-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4661-2010 https://doaj.org/article/442af22a483f40aa97f0feecd0176c11 EN eng Copernicus Publications http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/4661/2010/acp-10-4661-2010.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-10-4661-2010 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/442af22a483f40aa97f0feecd0176c11 Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 10, Iss 10, Pp 4661-4672 (2010) Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 article 2010 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4661-2010 2022-12-31T08:34:17Z Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) measurements at Alert, Canada, from 1995 to 2007 were analyzed for statistical time trends and for correlations with meteorological and climate data. A significant decreasing trend in annual GEM concentration is reported at Alert, with an estimated slope of −0.0086 ng m −3 yr −1 (−0.6% yr −1 ) over this 13-year period. It is shown that there has been a shift in the month of minimum mean GEM concentration from May to April due to a change in the timing of springtime atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs). These AMDEs are found to decrease with increasing local temperature within each month, both at Alert and at Amderma, Russia. These results support the temperature dependence suggested by previous experimental results and theoretical kinetic calculations on both bromine generation and mercury oxidation and highlight the potential for changes in Arctic mercury chemistry with climate. A correlation between total monthly AMDEs at Alert and the Polar/Eurasian Teleconnection Index was observed only in March, perhaps due to higher GEM inputs in early spring in those years with a weak polar vortex. A correlation of AMDEs at Alert with wind direction supports the origin of mercury depletion events over the Arctic Ocean, in agreement with a previous trajectory study of ozone depletion events. Interannual variability in total monthly depletion event frequency at Alert does not appear to correlate significantly with total or first-year northern hemispheric sea ice area or with other major teleconnection patterns. Nor do AMDEs at either Alert or Amderma correlate with local wind speed, as might be expected if depletion events are sustained by stable, low-turbulence atmospheric conditions. The data presented here – both the change in timing of depletion events and their relationship with temperature – can be used as additional constraints to improve the ability of models to predict the cycling and deposition of mercury in the Arctic. Article in Journal/Newspaper Amderma Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Amderma ENVELOPE(61.666,61.666,69.758,69.758) Arctic Arctic Ocean Canada Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 10 10 4661 4672 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
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Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 A. S. Cole A. Steffen Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
topic_facet |
Physics QC1-999 Chemistry QD1-999 |
description |
Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) measurements at Alert, Canada, from 1995 to 2007 were analyzed for statistical time trends and for correlations with meteorological and climate data. A significant decreasing trend in annual GEM concentration is reported at Alert, with an estimated slope of −0.0086 ng m −3 yr −1 (−0.6% yr −1 ) over this 13-year period. It is shown that there has been a shift in the month of minimum mean GEM concentration from May to April due to a change in the timing of springtime atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs). These AMDEs are found to decrease with increasing local temperature within each month, both at Alert and at Amderma, Russia. These results support the temperature dependence suggested by previous experimental results and theoretical kinetic calculations on both bromine generation and mercury oxidation and highlight the potential for changes in Arctic mercury chemistry with climate. A correlation between total monthly AMDEs at Alert and the Polar/Eurasian Teleconnection Index was observed only in March, perhaps due to higher GEM inputs in early spring in those years with a weak polar vortex. A correlation of AMDEs at Alert with wind direction supports the origin of mercury depletion events over the Arctic Ocean, in agreement with a previous trajectory study of ozone depletion events. Interannual variability in total monthly depletion event frequency at Alert does not appear to correlate significantly with total or first-year northern hemispheric sea ice area or with other major teleconnection patterns. Nor do AMDEs at either Alert or Amderma correlate with local wind speed, as might be expected if depletion events are sustained by stable, low-turbulence atmospheric conditions. The data presented here – both the change in timing of depletion events and their relationship with temperature – can be used as additional constraints to improve the ability of models to predict the cycling and deposition of mercury in the Arctic. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. S. Cole A. Steffen |
author_facet |
A. S. Cole A. Steffen |
author_sort |
A. S. Cole |
title |
Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
title_short |
Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
title_full |
Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
title_fullStr |
Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the Arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
title_sort |
trends in long-term gaseous mercury observations in the arctic and effects of temperature and other atmospheric conditions |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2010 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4661-2010 https://doaj.org/article/442af22a483f40aa97f0feecd0176c11 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(61.666,61.666,69.758,69.758) |
geographic |
Amderma Arctic Arctic Ocean Canada |
geographic_facet |
Amderma Arctic Arctic Ocean Canada |
genre |
Amderma Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Amderma Arctic Arctic Ocean Sea ice |
op_source |
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, Vol 10, Iss 10, Pp 4661-4672 (2010) |
op_relation |
http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/4661/2010/acp-10-4661-2010.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7316 https://doaj.org/toc/1680-7324 doi:10.5194/acp-10-4661-2010 1680-7316 1680-7324 https://doaj.org/article/442af22a483f40aa97f0feecd0176c11 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-10-4661-2010 |
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Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics |
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10 |
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10 |
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4661 |
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4672 |
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