MRES700 Research Proposal - Dan Sawyer

Investigating the effects of wind speed and direction on

the deposition of atmospheric mercury

Mercury is a serious environmental pollutant due to its harmful effects on both

ecosystems and humans (Mergler et al. 2007). It is well acknowledged that the
atmosphere is a major passageway for the transport of mercury into the
environment (Lyman et al. 2010). Despite this, our present understanding of the
air-surface exchange of atmospheric mercury is relatively poor, with few studies
having been conducted into several of the key parameters involved (Zhang et al.
2009). The result of this is an inadequate knowledge of how and where mercury
pollution deposits into surface environments.
Atmospheric mercury can be split into three species: gaseous elemental mercury
(GEM), gaseous oxidised mercury (GOM) and particulate mercury (Hg p). Of these
three, our understanding of how GOM is exchanged between the atmosphere and
the surface is particularly poor, with only a handful of publications examining
GOM deposition. This knowledge gap is due partly to the inherent challenges of
measuring the extremely low concentrations involved (as low as parts per
quadrillion), and partly due to inadequate measurement techniques. This was
especially highlighted when the KCl Denuder technique for measuring GOM was
found to be inaccurate in 2014 (McClure et al. 2014).
One of the important questions in understanding the surface-air exchange of
mercury is how wind speed and direction affect mercury deposition. Few studies
have been conducted in this area, and none in the Southern Hemisphere. This
presents an opportunity to investigate for the first time the role that varying wind
conditions play on atmospheric mercury exchange in a Southern Hemisphere
climatic situation. This information would allow for more accurate models to be

produced into how and where mercury is being transported through the
atmosphere, and provide a far more grounded scientific understanding for
developing management policies.
As mentioned earlier, one of the hindrances of measuring atmospheric mercury,
particularly GOM, is the lack of accurate measurement techniques. A new
procedure for measuring GOM and its interactions with the surface has recently
been pioneered, and although publications are yet to appear, initial data shows
more accurate results than those given by other available measurement
techniques. This procedure has the potential to revolutionise measurements of
atmospheric mercury, particularly GOM, and allow for faster and more accurate
results to be gathered. Using such a technique would provide a fast and
effective means for answering the question of the effects of wind speed and
direction on mercury deposition mentioned earlier.
For these reasons, this proposal is put forward to investigate the question
discussed above using this newly developed technique. The proposed
experiment will test the effects of wind speed and direction on the rates of
deposition for both GEM and GOM, using the new technique for measuring GOM
mentioned earlier. Running for a total of 12 months, data will be gathered for a
full years climate, and the effects of seasonal wind variations on mercury
deposition will be recorded. This data series should allow for a detailed
understanding to be drawn up on how a Southern Hemisphere wind climate
affects atmospheric mercury exchange with the surface.
Since the procedure to be used for determining atmospheric mercury
concentrations and deposition is still being tested, the experiment will run
alongside a traditional mercury detection setup (Tekran 2537a Mercury Vapour
Analyser). This will allow for simultaneous analysis of this new technique to be

performed, in conjunction with determining the effect of wind parameters on

gaseous mercury deposition. The data from both the traditional setup and the
new technique will be compared with wind data, and the Tekran provides a
fallback should the new technique not perform as required.
There are two main aims to this project. The first is to determine how varying
wind speed and direction in a Southern Hemisphere environment affect the
deposition rates for both GEM and GOM, the two most prevalent species of
mercury occurring in the atmosphere and depositing to the surface. The second
aim of the project is to assess the accuracy and viability of a newly pioneered
measurement technique for atmospheric mercury concentrations and deposition.
Aim 1: To investigate the effects of varying wind speed and direction on the
deposition of atmospheric mercury in a Southern Hemisphere environment
Aim 2: To assess the accuracy and viability of a new technique being pioneered
to measure concentrations and deposition rates of atmospheric mercury.

References
1.

Lyman, S.N., Jaffe, D.A., Gustin, M.S., 2010. Release of mercury halides
from KCl denuders in the presence of ozone. Atmospheric Chemistry and
Physics 10, 8197-8204

2.

Mergler, D., Anderson, H. A., Chan, L. H. M., Mahaffey, K. R., Murray, M.,
Sakamoto, M., Stern, A. H., 2007. Methylmercury exposure and health
effects in humans: A worldwide concern. Ambio 36, 3 11.

3.

McClure, C.D., Jaffe, D.A., Edgerton, 2014. Evaluation of the KCl Denuder
method for gaseous oxidised mercury using HgBr 2 at an in-service AMNet
site. Environmental Science and Technology 48, 11437-11444

4.

Zhang, L., Wright, L.P., Blanchard, P. 2009. A review of current knowledge

concerning dry deposition of atmospheric mercury. Atmospheric
Environment 43, 5853-5864