Mercury in Atmosphere

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Air Quality".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (19 October 2023) | Viewed by 4330

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 55008, China
Interests: mercury biogeochemical cycling; mercury exposure and health effects; mercury stable isotopes; remediation of mercury contamination
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Guest Editor
Center for Advances on Water and Air Quality, Lamar University, Beaumont, TX 77710-0088, USA
Interests: mercury stable isotopes; atmospheric mercury chemistry; chemical transport and deposition of mercury
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 55008, China
Interests: atmospheric mercury monitoring; mercury stable isotope; transport and transformation of atmospheric pollutant; heavy metal geochemistry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Forest Ecology and Management, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-90183 Umeå, Sweden
Interests: mercury biogeochemistry; chemical speciation; atmospheric mercury; surface–atmosphere exchange; organic matter

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Toxic mercury is globally dispersed through long-range transport in the atmosphere and biogeochemical cycling in the environment. The aim of this Special Issue is to synthesize the state of the science in the measurement, assessment, and modeling of atmospheric mercury measurement to improve our understanding of global mercury cycling. The UNEP Minamata Convention on Mercury has entered into force since 2017. There is an urgent need for the research community to understand how local, regional and global mercury cycles respond to mercury emission control. This Special Issue focuses on topics on atmospheric mercury cycling that advance our knowledge and aid scientific evaluation of the environmental effectiveness of the Minamata Convention.

We especially welcome: (1) measurement and modeling studies that address atmospheric mercury cycling questions at local, regional and global scales; (2) process-orientated studies that address atmospheric mercury transformation and surface–atmospheric mercury exchange.

Targeted topics of this Special Issue include but are not limited to:

  • Atmospheric mercury speciation;
  • Atmospheric mercury chemistry;
  • Surface–atmosphere exchange;
  • Atmospheric mercury dry and wet deposition;
  • Inventory of mercury emissions.

Dr. Xinbin Feng
Prof. Dr. Jerry Lin
Prof. Dr. Xuewu Fu
Dr. Wei Zhu
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • atmospheric mercury
  • speciation and concentration
  • emission
  • deposition
  • surface–atmosphere exchange
  • modeling

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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20 pages, 3932 KiB  
Article
Evasion of Gaseous Elemental Mercury from Forest and Urban Soils Contaminated by Historical and Modern Ore Roasting Processes (Idrija, Slovenia)
by Federico Floreani, Elena Pavoni, Mateja Gosar and Stefano Covelli
Atmosphere 2023, 14(6), 1036; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14061036 - 16 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1910
Abstract
Considerable amounts of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) can be released into the atmosphere from Hg-enriched substrates, such as those from former mining areas, posing a potential environmental threat. In this work, Hg0 fluxes at the soil–air interface under natural vegetation [...] Read more.
Considerable amounts of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) can be released into the atmosphere from Hg-enriched substrates, such as those from former mining areas, posing a potential environmental threat. In this work, Hg0 fluxes at the soil–air interface under natural vegetation covers were measured in various locations within the Idrija Hg mining area (Slovenia) and its surroundings. Sites were selected in order to compare Hg0 fluxes from both forest soils heavily impacted by historical ore roasting and urban soils characterised by a different degree of Hg enrichment due to the natural occurrence of Hg in rocks or recent mining and roasting processes. Replicate measurements at each site were conducted using a non-steady state flux chamber coupled with a real-time Hg0 analyser (Lumex RA-915M). Moreover, topsoil samples (0–2 cm) were analysed for Hg total concentration and speciation. Cinnabar was the predominant Hg form in almost all the sites. Despite Hg0 being undetectable in soils using thermo-desorption, substantial emissions were observed (70.7–701.8 ng m−2 h−1). Urban soils in a naturally enriched area showed on average the highest Hg0 fluxes, whereas relatively low emissions were found at the historical roasting site, which is currently forested, despite the significantly high total Hg content in soils (up to 219.0 and 10,400 mg kg−1, respectively). Overall, our findings confirm that shading by trees or litter may effectively limit the amount of Hg0 released into the atmosphere even from extremely enriched soils, thus acting as a natural mitigation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mercury in Atmosphere)
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Review

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21 pages, 7077 KiB  
Review
Monitoring Atmospheric Atomic Mercury by Optical Techniques
by Sune Svanberg
Atmosphere 2023, 14(7), 1124; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14071124 - 7 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1510
Abstract
Mercury is a serious neurotoxic agent, and the control and monitoring of emissions are important. Optical spectroscopy is a powerful technique for measurement of mercury, which in the atmosphere predominantly appears in atomic form. The mercury resonance line close to 254 nm can [...] Read more.
Mercury is a serious neurotoxic agent, and the control and monitoring of emissions are important. Optical spectroscopy is a powerful technique for measurement of mercury, which in the atmosphere predominantly appears in atomic form. The mercury resonance line close to 254 nm can be utilized in long-path absorption measurements of average concentrations or in light detection and ranging (lidar) studies, where range-resolved concentration values can be obtained. In addition, point monitors often use optical detection, frequently after pre-concentration, as well as for mercury compounds in conjunction with denuders, which transfer the compounds into atomic mercury. The present review discusses mercury measurement methods with respect to merits and sensitivity to interference. The main focus is on remote-sensing techniques, and many examples from industrial and mining monitoring are given. Further, mercury emissions related to the extraction of geothermal energy are discussed. Finally, an example from archaeology—the Qin tomb in Xi’an—is presented. Advanced measurement techniques can help in shaping an environment largely free from mercury contamination. Further, the aspect of mercury being an important geophysical tracer gas can also be exploited. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mercury in Atmosphere)
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