Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 12 (2012): 7341-7350, doi:10.5194/acp-12-7341-2012.
Description:
The distribution of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) was determined in the surface atmosphere of the northern South China Sea (SCS) during 12 SEATS cruises between May 2003 and December 2005. The sampling and analysis of GEM were performed on board ship by using an on-line mercury analyzer (GEMA). Distinct annual patterns were observed for the GEM with a winter maximum of 5.7 ± 0.2 ng m−3 (n = 3) and minimum in summer (2.8 ± 0.2; n = 3), with concentrations elevated 2–3 times global background values. Source tracking through backward air trajectory analysis demonstrated that during the northeast monsoon (winter), air masses came from Eurasia, bringing continental- and industrial-derived GEM to the SCS. In contrast, during summer southwest monsoon and inter-monsoon, air masses were from the Indochina Peninsula and Indian Ocean and west Pacific Ocean. This demonstrates the impact that long-range transport, as controlled by seasonal monsoons, has on the Hg atmospheric distribution and cycling in the SCS.
Description:
Support
was provided by the National Science Council (Taiwan, Republic
of China) through grant number NSC 97-2745-M-002-001-;98-
2611-M-002-013- and through a thematic research grant titled
“Atmospheric Forcing on Ocean Biogeochemistry (AFOBi)”
and from the College of Science (COS#1010023540), National
Taiwan University (NTU#101R3252) through a grant of the NTU
“Aim for Top University Project” under research platform of the
“Drunken-Moon Lake” scientific integration.
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
Format:
application/pdf
Permalink
