A comparison of recent methods for modelling mercury fluxes at the air-water interface

L Fantozzi,G Manca,F Sprovieri,Nicola Pirrone

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/20130123004

L Fantozzi, G Manca + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20130123004

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Abstract

The atmospheric pathway of the global mercury flux is known to be the primary source of mercury contamination to most threatened aquatic ecosystems. Notwithstanding, the emission of mercury from surface water to the atmosphere is as much as 50% of total annual emissions of this metal into the atmosphere. In recent years, much effort has been made in theoretical and experimental researches to quantify the total mass flux of mercury to the atmosphere. In this study the most recent atmospheric modelling methods and the information obtained from them are presented and compared using experimental data collected during the Oceanographic Campaign Fenice 2011 (25 October - 8 November 2011), performed on board the Research Vessel (RV) Urania of the CNR in the framework of the MEDOCEANOR ongoing program. A strategy for future numerical model development is proposed which is intended to gain a better knowledge of the long-term effects of meteo-climatic drivers on mercury evasional processes, and would provide key information on gaseous Hg exchange rates at the air-water interface.

Highlights

Mercury is one of “priority pollutants”, as its mobility between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere threatens the biosphere globally
In this study the most recent atmospheric modelling methods and the information obtained from them are presented and compared using experimental data collected during the Oceanographic Campaign Fenice 2011 (25 October – 8 November 2011), performed on board the Research Vessel (RV) Urania of the CNR in the framework of the MEDOCEANOR ongoing program
Two different methods for modelling mercury fluxes at the air-water interface have been compared using experimental data collected during the Oceanographic Campaign Fenice 2011 (25 October – 8 November 2011), on board the Research Vessel (RV) Urania of the CNR in the framework of the MEDOCEANOR ongoing program (Sprovieri et al, 2010)

Summary

Introduction

Mercury is one of “priority pollutants”, as its mobility between the hydrosphere and the atmosphere threatens the biosphere globally. Air-water elemental mercury (Hg0) flux estimations, based on the two-layer gas exchange model, are significantly affected by the choice of gas transfer parameterizations (Rolfhus and Fitzgerald, 2001; Andersson et al, 2007; Kuss et al, 2009, Ci et al, 2011). The value of the evasion of mercury from the sea surface can vary significantly in depending of the use of different types of calculation. Two different methods for modelling mercury fluxes at the air-water interface have been compared using experimental data collected during the Oceanographic Campaign Fenice 2011 (25 October – 8 November 2011), on board the Research Vessel (RV) Urania of the CNR in the framework of the MEDOCEANOR ongoing program (Sprovieri et al, 2010). We propose an integration of the most recent methods for calculate mercury flux, that seems to be more reliable for mercury

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