Atmospheric Transport of Mercury to the Tibetan Plateau

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• 作者：Mark Loewen ; Shichang Kang ; Debbie Armstrong ; Qianggong Zhang ; Gregg Tomy ; Feiyue Wang
• 刊名：Environmental Science & Technology
• 出版年：2007
• 出版时间：November 15, 2007
• 年：2007
• 卷：41
• 期：22
• 页码：7632 - 7638
• 全文大小：334K
• 年卷期：v.41,no.22(November 15, 2007)
• ISSN：1520-5851

文摘

The Tibetan Plateau (including the Himalayas) is one ofthe most remote and cold regions in the world. It has verylimited to nonexistent industry but is adjacent to the twomost populous and rapidly industrializing countries (Chinaand India) and thus provides a unique location forstudying the atmospheric transport of mercury. Here wereport the first study on the atmospheric transport of mercuryto the Tibetan Plateau. The total mercury profiles in foursnowpits from glaciers above 5700 m asl along a southwest-northeast transect across the central Tibetan Plateauwere obtained in 2005-2006. In general, the total mercuryconcentrations in the snow samples ranged from <1 to9 ng L^-1, increasing northeastward from the southernmostsite at Mount Everest. Higher total mercury concentrationswere found in the snow deposited in the nonmonsoon season,as indicated by seasonal variation of ¹⁸O values andmajor ions in the snowpack. The annual atmosphericdepositional flux of total Hg was estimated to range from0.74 to 2.97 g m^-2 yr^-1 in the region, the majority ofwhich occurred via particulate matter deposition.