Is mercury increasing in the atmosphere? The need for an atmospheric mercury network (AMNET)

Mercury uses in human endeavors will lead to a general, though variable, volatilization of Hg. Current estimates for anthropogenic interferences range from about 50 to 75% of the total annual Hg emissions to the atmosphere. Recent modeling suggests that the present atmospheric Hg burden has increased by a factor of 3 during the last 100 years with a current rate of increase of about 0.6% yr-1 (ca. 0.0 lng m-3yr-1). This impact, which is significant, can be examined and assessed empirically. To date, however, atmospheric Hg programs have not employed an experimental design sufficient to account for short time scale atmospheric Hg variations of natural and anthropogenic origin, and to resolve the long term temporal pattern. I am proposing an international research program, AMNET, or Atmospheric Hg Network, to address the important question, “Is Hg increasing in the atmosphere?” AMNET would examine temporal and spatial variations in atmospheric Hg and assess the influence of natural and anthropogenic sources on the global atmospheric Hg cycle. This program requires international support and cooperation. The experimental design of AMNET would follow the successful Atmospheric Lifetime Experiment Program (ALE), which examined the contemporary temporal changes in the atmospheric concentrations of the freons, methyl chloroform, carbon tetrachloride, and nitrous oxide. Following the ALE design, AMNET sampling stations would be maintained in both hemispheres and at sites free from strong local pollution sources of Hg (e.g., remote islands). Measurements would be made for a period of three to five years. The precision and accuracy of the Hg° determinations must be ≥ 1%. The accurate resolution of the variability and secular trends in the atmospheric Hg burden can provide: (1) a direct quantitative assessment of the scale to which anthropogenic processes are affecting the natural biogeochemical cycling of Hg; (2) an essential refinement and constraint currently lacking in mass balance models; (3) an enhanced knowledge of the behavior of Hg in the atmosphere, and (4) an accurate data base required for global circulation atmospheric chemical Hg models.

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