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Abstract Title: A Seven-year Monitoring of Mercury in Wet Deposition and Atmosphere at the GAW WMO-GMOS Amsterdam Island Observatory
Presenter Name: Antonella Tassone
Company/Institution: CNR-Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research
Session: Special Session - Mercury in the Southern Hemisphere
Day and Session: Wednesday 27th July - Session Two
Start Time: 11:30 UTC
Co-Authors: Antonella Tassone,Olivier Magand,Sacha Moretti,Maria Martino,Hippolyte Leuridan,Nicola Pirrone,Francesca Sprovieri,Michel Ramonet,Aur‚lien Dommergue,Attilio Naccarato

Abstract Information :

The assessment of the effectiveness of environmental policies for the reduction of ecosystem mercury (Hg) levels requires a comprehensive mapping of its concentration in all environmental compartments, at as many sites as possible around the world. Despite the increasing number of networks and programs for Hg monitoring, there is still a gap in the knowledge of Hg distribution in the Southern Hemisphere and in tropical areas. Addressing this gap is crucial for an accurate spatio-temporal understanding of Hg pollution, especially in remote areas, where it can provide important information on contaminant transport pathways in the absence of significant local pollution sources. In this context, the results of seven-years of continuous measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) in the atmosphere and total mercury (THg) in wet deposition conducted at the Amsterdam Island (AMS) GAW WMO - GMOS station are presented in this study. The average concentration of GEM over the entire period was 1.06 ñ 0.07 ng m-3, in line with typical Southern Hemisphere background values, with slightly higher values during the winter, attributable to the combined effects of meteorology and a long-range transport contribution from southern Africa. In precipitation, the average THg was 2.39 ng L-1, which resulted in a wet deposition flux of 2.04 æg m-2 yr-1, consistent with previous measurements at this site. The evaluation of ancillary parameters such as CO, CO2, 222Rn, CH4 and meteorological parameters, as well as the application of statistical tools such as Cluster Analysis of the air masses and Potential Source Contribution Function, provided support to the understanding of these data, allowing us to investigate the major contributors to the presence of Hg at AMS, including oceanic evasion and periodic meteorological phenomena, investigated through the study of the ENSO cycle.



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