title: Global Mercury Observatory System (GMOS): measurements of atmospheric mercury in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico during 2012.
abstract: 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 Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico, a coastal site along the Gulf of 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/m(3) with an annual average concentration of 1.047 ± 0.271 ng/m(3). Multivariate analyses of TGM and meteorological variables suggest that TGM is correlated with the vertical air mass distribution in the atmosphere, which is influenced by diurnal variations in temperature and relative humidity. Diurnal variation is characterized by higher nighttime mercury concentrations, which might be influenced by convection currents between sea and land. The back trajectory analysis confirmed that local sources do not significantly influence TGM variations. This study shows that TGM monitoring at the Celestun site fulfills GMOS goals for a background site.
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), Periférico 5000 Col. Insurgentes Cuicuilco, Delegación Coyoacán, CP 04530, México, D.F., Mexico.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Velasco
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Química Sisal, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto de Abrigo s/n, Sisal, Yucatán, 97355, Mexico. farcega@unam.mx.
authors.forename: Flor
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Arcega-Cabrera
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Química Sisal, Facultad de Química, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Puerto de Abrigo s/n, Sisal, Yucatán, 97355, Mexico.
authors.forename: Ismael
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Oceguera-Vargas
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), Periférico 5000 Col. Insurgentes Cuicuilco, Delegación Coyoacán, CP 04530, México, D.F., Mexico.
authors.forename: Martha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ramírez
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Ecología y Cambio Climático (INECC), Periférico 5000 Col. Insurgentes Cuicuilco, Delegación Coyoacán, CP 04530, México, D.F., Mexico.
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ortinez
authors.affiliation: European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Via Enrico Fermi, 2749, 21027, Ispra, Italy.
authors.forename: Gunther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Umlauf
authors.affiliation: European Commission-Joint Research Centre, Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), Via Enrico Fermi, 2749, 21027, Ispra, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sena
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D001272:Atmosphere / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis*; D008800:Mexico; D013696:Temperature
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008628:Mercury
keywords: Atmospheric transport; Background site; Diurnal variations; Global Mercury Observation System; Multivariate analysis; Time series; Total gaseous mercury