The flux of anthropogenic trace metals into the arctic from the mid-latitudes in 1979/80

• Published in: Atmospheric Environment
• Main Authors: Akeredolu, F. A., Barrie, L. A., Olson, M. P., Oikawa, K. K., Pacyna, J. M., Keeler, Gerald J.
• Other Authors: University of Michigan, Department of Environmental and Industrial Health, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, U.S.A., Atmospheric Environment Service, 4905 Dufferin Street, Downsview, Ontario, Canada, M3H 5T4
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 1994
• Subjects: Public Health; Civil and Environmental Engineering; Atmospheric; Oceanic and Space Sciences; Health Sciences; Engineering; Science; Arctic; Jan Mayen; Jergul; Skrova; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/31953; http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VH3-4BSFFB0-K/2/733ffacda0377d326a405000f24f54c9; https://doi.org/10.1016/1352-2310(94)90214-3

The flux of trace metals into the Arctic atmosphere between 0 and 3.5 km altitude for the period July 1979-June 1980 was determined using a chemical transport modeling approach used previously for sulfur. The total annual flux of antimony, arsenic, cadmium, lead, zinc and vanadium into the Arctic from Eurasia was 4, 285, 47, 2400, 1350 and 474 tonnes, respectively. This represents 3.4, 6.0, 4.2, 3.0, 3.1 and 1.7% of the source emissions, respectively. In contrast, the corresponding flux of sulfur was 2.2 million tonnes or 6.7% of the total emissions. The following percentage contributions to the total flux, of all six metals, by the source regions were calculated: western Europe (7-34%), eastern Europe (42-54%) and the Soviet Union (21/2/2-39%). The model also showed that in addition to a late winter (February, March) maximum input to the Arctic, a peak was also observed in October. This peak was shown to have resulted from an unusual set of synoptic conditions, which produced a strong northerly flow into the Arctic around 0 longitude in October 1979. Comparison of the model-predicted trace metal concentrations with a set of limited observations at existing sampling stations close to the Arctic Circle (namely Ny Alesund in Spitsbergen, Jergul, Skrova and Jan Mayen) showed agreement within a factor of 2-3. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/31953/1/0000906.pdf