title: Atmospheric transport of mercury to the Tibetan Plateau.
abstract: The Tibetan Plateau (including the Himalayas) is one of the most remote and cold regions in the world. It has very limited to nonexistent industry but is adjacent to the two most populous and rapidly industrializing countries (China and India) and thus provides a unique location for studying the atmospheric transport of mercury. Here we report the first study on the atmospheric transport of mercury to the Tibetan Plateau. The total mercury profiles in four snowpits from glaciers above 5700 m asl along a southwest-northeast transect across the central Tibetan Plateau were obtained in 2005-2006. In general, the total mercury concentrations in the snow samples ranged from < 1 to 9 ng L(-1), increasing northeastward from the southernmost site at Mount Everest. Higher total mercury concentrations were found in the snow deposited in the nonmonsoon season, as indicated by seasonal variation of delta18O values and major ions in the snowpack. The annual atmospheric depositional flux of total Hg was estimated to range from 0.74 to 2.97 microg m(-2) yr(-1) in the region, the majority of which occurred via particulate matter deposition.
authors: Department of Chemistry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada.
authors: Mark
authors: M
authors: Loewen
authors: Shichang
authors: S
authors: Kang
authors: Debbie
authors: D
authors: Armstrong
authors: Qianggong
authors: Q
authors: Zhang
authors: Gregg
authors: G
authors: Tomy
authors: Feiyue
authors: F
authors: Wang
mesh_terms: D000392:Air Movements; D000393:Air Pollutants; D001272:Atmosphere; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D005843:Geography; D007194:India; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D010103:Oxygen Isotopes / Q000032:analysis; D010316:Particle Size; D012621:Seasons; D012914:Snow; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004785:Environmental Pollutants; D010103:Oxygen Isotopes; D008628:Mercury