| Abstract Title: | Long term monitoring of mercury in ambient air in the Australian region |
| Presenter Name: | Jennifer Powell |
| Company/Institution: | CSIRO |
| Session: | Special Session - Mercury in the Southern Hemisphere |
| Day and Session: | Wednesday 27th July - Session Two |
| Start Time: | 11:30 UTC |
| Co-Authors: | Jennifer Powell,Melita Keywood,James Harnwell,Jason Ward,Erin Dunne,Jenny Fisher,Peter Nelson,Tony Morrison,Nigel Somerville,Dean Howard,Matthieu Miller |
Abstract Information :
The Minamata Convention is a global treaty whereby signatory countries have committed to reducing anthropogenic emissions of mercury. The effectiveness of the convention will be evaluated by measuring mercury concentrations in core media, one of which is air. Long term observations of mercury in ambient air are carried out at two sites in Australia; the Northern Territory Baseline Air Pollution (NT BAPS) station, located in tropical coastal savannah, where measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) commenced in June 2014 and the Kennaook / Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station (KCG BAPS), located on a bluff on the North West tip of Tasmania, where measurements of GEM commenced in 2011. Both sites are operated as World Meteorological Organisation Global Atmospheric Watch station and other observations made at these stations such as meteorological variables and air composition measurements contribute to the understanding of mercury cycling in this region. These sites are impacted by both continental and marine airmasses and are among only a handful of sites in the Southern Hemisphere that are used for long term global/hemispheric trend analysis. In this presentation we will discuss the measurement program, characteristics of both sites, trends and future monitoring plans.
