The fate of mercury species in a sub-arctic snowpack during snowmelt

• Published in: Geophysical Research Letters
• Main Authors: Dommergue, Aurélien, Ferrari, Christophe, Gauchard, Pierre-Alexis, Boutron, Claude, Poissant, Laurier, Pilote, Martin, Jitaru, Petru, Adams, Freddy
• 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), Environment and Climate Change Canada, Micro and Trace Analysis Center (Micro and Trace Analysis Center), University of Antwerp (UA)-Micro and Trace Analysis Center
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2003
• Subjects: mercury; snow; snowmelt; Canada; contamination; methylmercury; gas exchange; Geochemical cycle; sources and sinks; snow and ice; trace elements; [SDU.STU.GC]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Earth Sciences/Geochemistry; Arctic; Hudson; Hudson Bay
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00000529; https://hal.science/hal-00000529/document; https://hal.science/hal-00000529/file/2003gl017308.pdf

received 12 MArch 2003;revised 1 may 2003; accepted 15 May 2003 An extensive mercury study was conducted in April 2002 prior to and during the annual melting of a snowpack in a sub-arctic site along the Hudson Bay (Canada). Gas-phase measurements show that the snowmelt coincides with an elemental mercury (Hg°) pulse in the snowpack air far above ambient levels. Additional measurements of inorganic mercury (Hg2+) and methylmercury (MeHg+) in snow pits, in surface snow and in a meltwater sample clearly reveal that most of Hg is removed from the snow during the first days of snowmelt. We estimate that gas-phase exchanges contribute poorly to remove Hg from the snowpack; consequently during a snowmelt day more than 90% of Hg present in the snow surface is likely released with the meltwater. In arctic areas, where Hg accumulates at an accelerated rate in the snow surfaces [Lu et al., 2001] during mercury depletion events (MDE), the discharge of this toxic and bio-accumulating pollutant in water systems could be a threat to ecosystems and local indigenous populations.