Journal ArticleDOI
A Synthesis of Progress and Uncertainties in Attributing the Sources of Mercury in Deposition
Steve E. Lindberg,Russell Bullock,Ralf Ebinghaus,Daniel R. Engstrom,Xinbin Feng,William F. Fitzgerald,Nicola Pirrone,Eric M. Prestbo,Christian Seigneur +8 more
TLDR
It is agreed that the uncertainty is strongly dependent upon scale and that the question as stated is answerable with greater confidence both very near and very far from major point sources, assuming that the “global pool” is a recognizable “source.”Abstract:
A panel of international experts was convened in Madison, Wisconsin, in 2005, as part of the 8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant. Our charge was to address the state of science pertinent to source attribution, specifically our key question was: "For a given location, can we ascertain with confidence the relative contributions of local, regional, and global sources, and of natural versus anthropogenic emissions to mercury deposition?" The panel synthesized new research pertinent to this question published over the past decade, with emphasis on four major research topics: long-term anthropogenic change, current emission and deposition trends, chemical transformations and cycling, and modeling and uncertainty. Within each topic, the panel drew a series of conclusions, which are presented in this paper. These conclusions led us to concur that the answer to our question is a "qualified yes," with the qualification being dependent upon the level of uncertainty one is willing to accept. We agreed that the uncertainty is strongly dependent upon scale and that our question as stated is answerable with greater confidence both very near and very far from major point sources, assuming that the "global pool" is a recognizable "source." Many regions of interest from an ecosystem-exposure standpoint lie in between, where source attribution carries the greatest degree of uncertainty.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Comparison of two measurement methods of dissolved gaseous mercury concentrations and estimations of supersaturation grade and mercury fluxes during a research campaign at the Mediterranean Sea
TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) concentrations using two different methods, a manual-and an automated method, to calculate the supersaturation grades of the sea and the evasional fluxes from the sea surface.
Journal ArticleDOI
Chemical significance of atmospheric mercury at fishing port compared to urban and suburb in an offshore island
TL;DR: In this paper , the chemical significance, spatiotemporal variation, and source origins of atmospheric speciated mercury (ASM) at three contexts (urban, suburb, and fishing port) at the Penghu Islands in the Taiwan Strait were explored.
Journal ArticleDOI
Seasonal changes in total mercury and methylmercury in subtropical decomposing litter correspond to the abundances of nitrogen-fixing and methylmercury-degrading bacteria.
Liping Yang,Guang Yang,Jueying Wang,Bingcai Xiong,Pan Guo,Tao Wang,Hongxia Du,Ming Ma,Dingyong Wang +8 more
TL;DR: In this paper , a gradually complex network evolved for litterfall bacteria for the subtropical mixed broadleaf-conifer (MBC) forest, whereas a relatively static network existed for the evergreen broadleaf (EB) forest.
Applying Passive Air Sampling and Isotopic Characterization to Assess Spatial Variability of Gaseous Elemental Mercury Across Ontario, Canada
N. Szponar,Yushan Su,Geoff W. Stupple,David S. McLagan,Martin Pilote,Anthony Munoz,Carl P. J. Mitchell,Alexandra Steffen,Frank Wania,Bridget A. Bergquist +9 more
TL;DR: This article deployed 59 passive air samplers across the province of Ontario, Canada (and eight additional deployments in bordering states of northern USA) to assess the influence of local/regional sources, temporal differences, and possible transformations in the atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) pool.
Assessing the role of top-down techniques for improving regional estimates of artisanal and small-scale gold mining mercury emissions
TL;DR: Selin et al. as mentioned in this paper investigated whether and how ASGM-related Hg emissions can be quantified from existing regional measurement sites for gaseous elemental mercury (GEM).
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The biogeochemical cycling of elemental mercury: Anthropogenic influences☆
TL;DR: A review of the available information on global Hg cycling shows that the atmosphere and surface ocean are in rapid equilibrium; the evasion of Hg0 from the oceans is balanced by the total oceanic deposition of hg(II) from the atmosphere as mentioned in this paper.
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The Case for Atmospheric Mercury Contamination in Remote Areas
TL;DR: A review of the weaknesses in interpretation and the choice of information that has been used to argue against atmospheric Hg contamination can be found in this paper, where the authors examine the weaknesses of the information used to support the prevailing scientific view that natural geologic sources are the principal contributors of Hg.
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Global anthropogenic mercury emission inventory for 2000
TL;DR: Wilson et al. as mentioned in this paper presented a new inventory of global emissions of mercury to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources for the year 2000, showing that the largest emissions of Hg to the global atmosphere occur from combustion of fossil fuels, mainly coal in utility, industrial, and residential boilers.
Journal ArticleDOI
Arctic springtime depletion of mercury
W.H. Schroeder,Kurt G. Anlauf,Leonard A. Barrie,J. Y. Lu,Alexandra Steffen,D. Schneeberger,Torunn Berg +6 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors show that during the spring (April to early June) of 1995, there were frequent episodic depletions in mercury vapour concentrations in Arctic surface air.