Total gaseous mercury exchange between water and air during cloudy weather conditions over Hongfeng Reservoir, Guizhou, China

Abstract

Total gaseous mercury (TGM) exchange fluxes between air and water surface were measured using a dynamic flux chamber (DFC) coupled with a gaseous mercury analyzer at two sampling sites of Hongfeng reservoir in cloudy and rainy weather conditions. The concentrations of dissolved gaseous mercury (DGM) in water were also measured and indicated that DGM was supersaturated at most time during the sampling periods, which implied that the water body acted primarily as a source of mercury to the atmosphere. In general, TGM fluxes displayed a consistent diurnal pattern with peak fluxes at noon and minimum levels at early morning or night. However, this diurnal pattern was not clear when the weather was heavily cloudy and rainy with the maximum solar radiation of less than 140 W m−2. At this specific weather condition, a significantly positive correlation between TGM flux and relative humidity was observed. The behaviors of TGM flux over Hongfeng reservoir observed at cloudy weather conditions were some what different from those observed during mostly sunny weather conditions in Northern America and Europe. The empirical model developed based on the correlation between TGM flux and solar radiation during sunny days in Northern America was not applicable for estimation of TGM flux at cloudy and rainy weather conditions.