A synthesis of atmospheric mercury depletion event chemistry in the atmosphere and snow

• Main Authors: Steffen, A., Douglas, T., Amyot, M., Ariya, P., Aspmo, K., Berg, T., Bottenheim, J., Brooks, S., Cobbett, F., Dastoor, A., Dommergue, A., Ebinghaus, R., Ferrari, C., Gardfeldt, K., Goodsite, M. E., Lean, D., Poulain, A. J., Scherz, C., Skov, H., Sommar, J., Temme, C.
• Other Authors: Environment and Climate Change Canada, Universität Lüneburg, Scharnhorststraße 1/13, US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory Fort Wainwright, Département de Sciences Biologiques Montreal, Université de Montréal (UdeM), Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Montréal, McGill University = Université McGill Montréal, Canada, Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim (NTNU), Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), ARL Atmospheric Turbulence and Diffusion Division (ATD), NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (ARL), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)-National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), School of Engineering Guelph, University of Guelph, 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), GKSS-Forschungszentrum Geesthacht GmbH, Institute for Coastal Research, Chalmers University of Technology Göteborg, University of Southern Denmark (SDU), University of Ottawa Ottawa, 4 Hollywood Crescent, National Environmental Research Institute
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2008
• Subjects: [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Antarctic; Arctic; Canada; Antarc*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-00328572; https://hal.science/hal-00328572/document; https://hal.science/hal-00328572/file/acp-8-1445-2008.pdf

International audience It was discovered in 1995 that, during the spring time, unexpectedly low concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) occurred in the Arctic air. This was surprising for a pollutant known to have a long residence time in the atmosphere; however conditions appeared to exist in the Arctic that promoted this depletion of mercury (Hg). This phenomenon is termed atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDEs) and its discovery has revolutionized our understanding of the cycling of Hg in Polar Regions while stimulating a significant amount of research to understand its impact to this fragile ecosystem. Shortly after the discovery was made in Canada, AMDEs were confirmed to occur throughout the Arctic, sub-Artic and Antarctic coasts. It is now known that, through a series of photochemically initiated reactions involving halogens, GEM is converted to a more reactive species and is subsequently associated to particles in the air and/or deposited to the polar environment. AMDEs are a means by which Hg is transferred from the atmosphere to the environment that was previously unknown. In this article we review Hg research taken place in Polar Regions pertaining to AMDEs, the methods used to collect Hg in different environmental media, research results of the current understanding of AMDEs from field, laboratory and modeling work, how Hg cycles around the environment after AMDEs, gaps in our current knowledge and the future impacts that AMDEs may have on polar environments. The research presented has shown that while considerable improvements in methodology to measure Hg have been made but the main limitation remains knowing the speciation of Hg in the various media. The processes that drive AMDEs and how they occur are discussed. As well, the role that the snow pack and the sea ice play in the cycling of Hg is presented. It has been found that deposition of Hg from AMDEs occurs at marine coasts and not far inland and that a fraction of the deposited Hg does not remain in the same form in the snow. ...