title: Recent Decline of Atmospheric Mercury Recorded by Androsace tapete on the Tibetan Plateau.
abstract: We combined the mercury passive sampling method and plant biomonitoring together to understand the long-term changes of atmospheric mercury concentrations on the Tibetan Plateau. Through the analysis of leaves of Androsace tapete that represent growing periods spanning the past decade, we explored the historical records of atmospheric mercury from 2006 to 2015. Mercury concentration was stable in the leaves of Androsace tapete during the period between 2006 and 2009, while a significant decrease occurred after the year of 2010. The decreasing trend is consistent with the monitoring data of the ground-based stations in other regions globally. Despite the potential uncertainties using a passive sampling method and biomonitoring technique, we suggest that Androsace tapete is a potential biomarker that could provide reliable and effective historical records of atmospheric mercury concentrations and offer new perspectives in monitoring mercury and perhaps other atmospheric pollutants in regions where long-term active monitoring was missing.
authors.forename: Yindong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Lanzhou, 730000 P.R. China.|Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, 100101 P.R. China.|University of Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, 100049 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xiufeng
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University , Beijing, 100871 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huiming
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science, Tibet University , Lhasa, 850000 P.R. China.
authors.lastname: Buduo
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry & Environmental Science, Tibet University , Lhasa, 850000 P.R. China.
authors.lastname: Danzeng
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University , Beijing, 100871 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Huanhuan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University , Beijing, 100871 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Chunyan
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University , Beijing, 100871 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Long
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University , Beijing, 100871 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jinling
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China , Beijing, 100872 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Madison , Madison, Wisconsin 53703, United States.
authors.forename: James Jay
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Schauer
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Lanzhou, 730000 P.R. China.|CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences , Beijing, 100101 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Shichang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, 100101 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Guoshuai
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xiaoge
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Bu
authors.affiliation: College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University , Beijing, 100871 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Xuejun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences , Beijing, 100101 P.R. China.|CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences , Beijing, 100101 P.R. China.
authors.forename: Qianggong
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-2189-4248
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D008628:Mercury; D018609:Tibet
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D008628:Mercury