Current methods and research strategies for modeling atmospheric mercury

Technical Report · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1999

OSTI ID:6317414

Bullock, O R

The atmospheric pathway of the global mercury cycle is known to be the primary source of mercury contamination to most threatened aquatic ecosystems. While much effort has been made to quantify the total mass flux of mercury to the atmosphere from various natural and anthropogenic sources, discrimination of the chemical and physical forms of these emissions is just beginning in response to early modeling exercises showing this discrimination to be critical for accurate modeling estimates of the sources responsible for observed mercury deposition. In this paper, current atmospheric mercury modeling techniques and the information obtained from them are described. A strategy for future field research and numerical model development is proposed which is designed to confidently identify the sources of atmospheric mercury responsible for observed contamination of aquatic ecosystems.

• Research Organization: Environmental Protection Agency, National Exposure Research Lab., Cincinnati, OH (United States)
• OSTI ID: 6317414
• Report Number(s): PB-99-149783/XAB; EPA--600/A-99/046
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
540320 -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
AIR POLLUTION
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
ECOSYSTEMS
ELEMENTS
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
MASS TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
MERCURY
METALS
MONITORING
POLLUTION
POLLUTION SOURCES
WATER POLLUTION