Global Mercury Observatory System (GMOS): Measurements of atmospheric mercury in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico during 2012

Within the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) project, long-term continuous measurements of total gaseous mercury (TGM) were carried out by a monitoring station located at a coastal site along the Gulf of Mexico, in the Northwest of Yucatan, known as Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico. The measurements covered the period from January 28th to October 17th, 2012. TGM data at the Celestun site were obtained using a high-resolution mercury vapor analyzer. TGM data show values from 0.50 to 2.82 ng/m3 with an annual average concentration of 1.047 ± 0.271 ng/m3. Multivariate analyses of TGM and meteorological variables suggest that TGM is correlated with the vertical mass distribution of the atmosphere, which is influenced by diurnal variations of temperature and relative humidity. Diurnal variation is characterized by higher nighttime mercury concentrations, which could be influenced by the air flow pattern, due to convection currents between sea and land. The back trajectory analysis confirmed the influence of local sources throughout the year. This study shows that TGM monitoring at the Celestun site fulfills GMOS goals for a background site.

VELASCO Juan Antonio;  ARCEGA CABRERA Flor;  OCEGUERA VARGAS Ismael;  RAMÍREZ ISLAS Martha;  ORTINEZ Abraham;  UMLAUF Gunther;  SENA Fabrizio; 

2019-05-02

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG

JRC96264

0944-1344,   

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11356-016-6852-5,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC96264,   

10.1007/s11356-016-6852-5,