> Research Highlight:
NOAA Scientists Study Mercury at Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
Research Highlight:
NOAA Scientists Study Mercury at Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
On January 18, 2008 scientists from NOAA's Air Resources Laboratory
(ARL) completed final upgrades and installation of ambient air mercury
monitoring equipment at a permanent site within the Grand Bay National
Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), located within the Grand Bay National
Wildlife Refuge in Moss Point, Mississippi. Continuous measurements of
elemental mercury (Hg0), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM), fine
particulate mercury (Hg-P), carbon monoxide (CO), sulfur dioxide (SO2),
ozone (O3), and oxides of nitrogen (NO/NOY) are being made from a mobile
trailer stationed at the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico. The trailer,
which provides climate control for the instrumentation and data
recording devices, as well as work space for instrument calibration and
maintenance, can be evacuated from the site in less than an hour if
severe weather approaches. In addition to the trailer, a 10-meter walk-
up aluminum tower was installed to hold the instrument inlet systems and
meteorological sensors. ARL scientists oversee the collection,
processing, and interpretation of the incoming data. This study is
being conducted in partnership with NERR staff, who conduct routine
operations and coordinate collaborative research activities, and NOAA's
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, who provided funding for
vital infrastructure support and state-of-the art monitoring equipment.
Mercury is a powerful neurological toxin. Release of mercury
compounds to the atmosphere through natural (e.g. soil evasion) and
anthropogenic (coal combustion, waste incineration) processes, followed
by "dry" deposition and precipitation, often constitutes the dominant
loading mechanism to watersheds. People are exposed to methylmercury,
the most toxic form of mercury, almost entirely by eating fish and
wildlife contaminated with mercury. Fish consumption in coastal areas
is typically much higher than the national average, and every state
along the Gulf of Mexico has widespread fish consumption advisories for
mercury. Data from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program indicate
that mercury concentrations in precipitation in the Gulf of Mexico
region are some of the highest in the United States. However, total
atmospheric loadings of mercury to this region are not well
characterized.
ARL's mercury monitoring station at the Grand Bay NERR constitutes
one of the first such stations in an emerging multi-agency national
mercury network. Long-term measurements provide essential information
needed to better quantify atmospheric loadings to local watersheds,
discern natural versus anthropogenic sources of mercury, and elucidate
source-receptor relationships from known or suspected emission sources.
The collected data will facilitate a more thorough evaluation of NOAA's
mercury models. These models are key to establishing clear linkages
between atmospheric processes (emission, atmospheric chemistry,
deposition) and aquatic and biochemical processes that govern the
incorporation and migration of mercury through the food web. This
research supports NOAA's goal to "Protect, Restore, and Manage the Use
of Coastal and Ocean Resources through an Ecosystem Approach to
Management."
