Mercury speciation and aerosol properties at Svalbard

Abstract

In this study the relationship between atmospheric mercury (Hg) species and the relationship between aerosol size and particulate mercury (PHg) will be presented. This study is based on empirical data measured from Zeppelin Station at Svalbard between November 2014 and November 2015. The aim is to improve the understanding of the relation of atmospheric Hg species and the aerosol physical-chemical properties. The analysis confirms previous findings considering atmospheric mercury depletion events (AMDE) is influenced significantly by temperature. Further, the analysis suggests that reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) seemed to be impacted by local process, while particulate mercury (PHg) was often related to atmospheric transport. In addition, aerosol size between 110 and 353nm seemed to be most relevant to PHg.

Keywords Mercury; Arctic; GEM; RGM; PHg; Atmospheric Hg; Svalbard; Aerosol size distribution