Development and evaluation of a sampling system to determine gaseous Mercury fluxes using an aerodynamic micrometeorological gradient method

[1] An aerodynamic gradient micrometeorological approach to the measurement of total gaseous mercury (TGM) flux has been developed. This method has been applied in many field studies for the characterization of TGM flux from various mercuriferous substrates. The resolution of the gradient method depends on the sampling systems characteristics and has been demonstrated to be on the order of 0.01 ± 0.01 ng Hg m−3 or better. The method is best suited to measuring high-emitting sites such as studied here. The TGM flux resolution is based on the gradient resolution and depends on the site characteristics and the atmospheric condition. For a typical friction velocity u* of 0.1 m s−1 and gradient intake heights of 0.15 and 0.4 m the method can resolve a TGM flux on the order of 1.5 ng m−2 h−1. The system can be configured for two-level or multilevel sampling, as needed. The method compares well with other micrometeorological methods as demonstrated during the Nevada storms intercomparison study. The micrometeorological method is shown to compare well with chamber techniques under comparable conditions.

[1]  T. Meyers,et al.  Development of an automated micrometeorological method for measuring the emission of mercury vapor from wetland vegetation , 2001, Wetlands Ecology and Management.

[2]  G. W. Thurtell,et al.  A diode laser based gas monitor suitable for measurement of trace gas exchange using micrometeorological techniques , 2003 .

[3]  P. Campuzano‐Jost,et al.  Rapid, ultra-sensitive detection of gas phase elemental mercury under atmospheric conditions using sequential two-photon laser induced fluorescence. , 2002, Journal of environmental monitoring : JEM.

[4]  M. Barnett,et al.  Dynamic flux chamber measurement of gaseous mercury emission fluxes over soils. Part 1: simulation of gaseous mercury emissions from soils using a two-resistance exchange interface model , 2002 .

[5]  T. Kuiken,et al.  Dynamic flux chamber measurement of gaseous mercury emission fluxes over soils: Part 2—effect of flushing flow rate and verification of a two-resistance exchange interface simulation model , 2002 .

[6]  J. Baker,et al.  Conditional sampling for measuring mercury vapor fluxes , 2001 .

[7]  P. Rasmussen,et al.  Sources of variability in mercury flux measurements , 2001 .

[8]  A. Gillis,et al.  Some potential errors in the measurement of mercury gas exchange at the soil surface using a dynamic flux chamber. , 2000, The Science of the total environment.

[9]  J. Norman,et al.  Correcting eddy-covariance flux underestimates over a grassland , 2000 .

[10]  X. Lee,et al.  Total gaseous mercury concentration and flux over a coastal saltmarsh vegetation in Connecticut, USA , 2000 .

[11]  R. Ebinghaus,et al.  Nevada STORMS project: Measurement of mercury emissions from naturally enriched surfaces , 1999 .

[12]  P. Rasmussen,et al.  Application of a laboratory gas exchange chamber for assessment of in situ mercury emissions , 1999 .

[13]  T. Meyers,et al.  Air/surface exchange of mercury vapor over forests-the need for a reassessment of continental biogenic emissions , 1998 .

[14]  P. Rasmussen.  Long-range atmospheric transport of trace metals: the need for geoscience perspectives , 1998 .

[15]  S. Schiff,et al.  Mercury in lake sediments of the Precambrian Shield near Huntsville, Ontario, Canada , 1998 .

[16]  Laurier Poissant,et al.  Application of a new telemetry and remote monitoring design for an automatic atmospheric vapour phase mercury analyser : Preliminary results , 1996 .

[17]  Nils G. Sundin,et al.  The use of nafion dryer tubes for moisture removal in flow injection chemical vapor generation atomic absorption spectrometry , 1995 .

[18]  M. Gustin,et al.  Atmospheric mercury concentrations above mercury contaminated mill tailings in the Carson River Drainage Basin, NV , 1995 .

[19]  T. Meyers,et al.  Micrometeorological gradient approach for quantifying air/surface exchange of mercury vapor: tests over contaminated soils. , 1995, Environmental science & technology.

[20]  P. Rasmussen,et al.  Current methods of estimating atmospheric mercury fluxes in remote areas. , 1994, Environmental science & technology.

[21]  J. Garratt.  The Atmospheric Boundary Layer , 1992 .

[22]  D. C. Wigfield,et al.  Gas-phase adsorption losses of elemental mercury in cold-vapor atomic absorption spectrometry , 1991 .

[23]  Monique Y. Leclerc,et al.  Footprint prediction of scalar fluxes using a Markovian analysis , 1990 .

[24]  O. Lindqvist,et al.  Cycling of mercury between water, air, and soil compartments of the environment , 1989 .

[25]  J. A. Businger,et al.  Evaluation of the Accuracy with Which Dry Deposition Can Be Measured with Current Micrometeorological Techniques. , 1987 .

[26]  E. K. Webb,et al.  Correction of flux measurements for density effects due to heat and water vapour transfer , 1980 .

[27]  A. S. Monin,et al.  Statistical Fluid Mechanics: The Mechanics of Turbulence , 1998 .

[28]  E. F. Bradley,et al.  Flux-Profile Relationships in the Atmospheric Surface Layer , 1971 .