Study of the origin of atmospheric mercury depletion events recorded in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, spring 2003

• Published in: Atmospheric Environment
• Main Authors: Gauchard, Pierre-Alexis, Aspmo, Karine, Temme, Christian, Steffen, Alexandra, Ferrari, Christophe P., Berg, Torunn, Ström, Johan, Kaleschke, Lars, Dommergue, Aurélien, Bahlmann, Enno, Magand, Olivier, Planchon, Frédéric, Ebinghaus, Ralf, Banic, Cathy, Nagorski, Sonia, Baussand, Patrick, Boutron, Claude F.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE), 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 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)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), 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), GKSS-Research Center, Institute for Coastal Research, Air Quality Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), Polytech Grenoble, Institute of Applied Environmental Research Stockholm (ITM), Stockholm University, Institute of Environmental Physics Bremen (IUP), University of Bremen, 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), UFR de Mécanique et de Physique
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2005
• Subjects: Atmospheric mercury depletion events; Mercury; Ozone; Particles; Transport; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Ny Ålesund; Ny-Ålesund; Svalbard
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-00374343; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2005.08.010

International audience An international campaign involving six teams was organized in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, in order to understand better the origin of atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs). Special emphasis was given to determining the source region of the observed events and the physical and chemical processes leading to AMDEs. Five AMDEs were recorded during a one-month field experiment (10 April-10 May, 2003). The different events presented various characteristics, especially in terms of mercury species formation, atmospheric particle variations and meteorological conditions. After careful examination of each event, we postulate that two were probably due to advection of already depleted air masses and three were a product of local or regional chemistry. The roles of different surfaces (frost flowers, snow, ice aerosol in clouds) involved in heterogeneous reactions leading to AMDEs are also discussed. We speculate that ice clouds may explain the particle variations observed during the three more local events.