Atmospheric Mercury

This is a conceptual diagram of the atmospheric mercury cycle, as simulated by the HYSPLIT-Hg model, including emissions, transformation, phase-partitioning, and deposition.

ARL conducts research in the atmospheric mercury cycle. A cornerstone of our work is a state-of-the-art modeling system that tracks mercury emission sources and links these emissions to atmospheric transport, transformation, and deposition. We also conduct long-term intensive monitoring of mercury in ambient air. Data collected are analyzed to gain useful insights into the origin, transport, and deposition of atmospheric mercury and for interpreting and evaluating our mercury modeling system. Our mercury products and services directly support air quality decision-makers, air quality forecasters, and the mercury research community.

The majority of mercury released to the environment is into the atmosphere. Mercury emissions come from a variety of sources and may be emitted in several forms. Mercury eventually deposits to watersheds and receiving waters where it can be converted to methylmercury, a highly toxic form. There mercury can enter the aquatic food chain through bioaccumulation.

Human exposure to mercury is primarily from consuming contaminated fish. Methylmercury can adversely affect the nervous system, particularly those of fetuses and young children. As a result, fish consumption advisories due to mercury contamination are widespread throughout the United States. NOAA has a stewardship responsibility for the nation’s fisheries.

Understanding where mercury emissions originate from; how and where mercury is transported and deposited; and what changes will occur due to emission controls is critical information for policy-makers and regulators to combat mercury contamination before it enters sensitive aquatic ecosystems.

What We Do

Research is being carried out in collaboration with the U.S. EPA and others to attempt to link atmospheric mercury models to aquatic fate and transport models and other models. Photo Credit: Silverander Ethnographics.

We conduct world-class research in the atmospheric mercury cycle. A cornerstone of our work is a state-of-the-art modeling system that tracks mercury emission sources and links these emissions to atmospheric transport, transformation, and deposition. We also conduct long-term intensive monitoring of mercury in ambient air. Data collected are analyzed to gain useful insights into the origin, transport, and deposition of atmospheric mercury and for interpreting and evaluating our mercury modeling system. Our mercury products and services directly support air quality decision-makers, air quality forecasters, and the mercury research community.

Why It Is Important

The majority of mercury released to the environment is into the atmosphere. Mercury emissions come from a variety of sources and may be emitted in several forms. Mercury eventually deposits to watersheds and receiving waters where it can be converted to methylmercury, a highly toxic form. There mercury can enter the aquatic food chain through bioaccumulation.

Human exposure to mercury is primarily from consuming contaminated fish. Methylmercury can adversely affect the nervous system, particularly those of fetuses and young children. As a result, fish consumption advisories due to mercury contamination are widespread throughout the United States.

Understanding where mercury emissions originate from; how and where mercury is transported and deposited; and what changes will occur due to emission controls is critical information for policy-makers and regulators.

Atmospheric Mercury Measurements

Location of ARL’s three long-term speciated atmospheric mercury measurement sites (Mauna Loa, Beltsville, Grand Bay), overlain on a map of large mercury point sources (for 2002) based on data from the U.S. EPA and Environment Canada.

Overview:

In conjunction with the National Atmospheric Deposition Program’s (NADP) Atmospheric Mercury Initiative, ARL operates three stations for the long-term, research-grade monitoring of concentrations of mercury species and other trace pollutants in the atmosphere:

  • Grand Bay, MS, in collaboration with the NOAA Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge
  • Beltsville, MD, in collaboration with the U.S. EPA
  • Mauna Loa Observatory, Mauna Loa, HI, in collaboration with NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory and the U.S. EPA

Goals and Objectives:

  • Assemble a long-term, publicly available data record
  • Establish correlations with meteorology and ancillary trace species to better understand the emission, transport, transformations, and fate of mercury in the atmosphere
  • Discern trends in atmospheric mercury concentrations
  • Derive dry deposition estimates
  • Elucidate mercury source-receptor relationships
  • Provide a data set for model evaluation

At each site, ambient air concentrations of gaseous elemental mercury, reactive gaseous mercury, and fine particulate mercury are measured. In addition, ambient air concentrations of trace gases (e.g., sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone) are measured. Meteorological parameters such as temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind speed and direction are also measured. Wet deposition measurements are being made following Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) protocols at the Beltsville site by collaborators (Univ. of MD, State of MD) and MDN sites are planned to be implemented at the Grand Bay and CVI sites as resources permit. Deposition in precipitation is quantified through chemical analysis of collected rain and snow samples.

In addition to the three long-term sites noted above, a number of short-term mercury measurement campaigns have been carried out, including the following: Cove Mtn, TN (Summer 2002); Gulf of Mexico (Ship) (Summer 2003); Oxford and Wye, MD (Summer 2004); Harcum, VA (Summer 2005); Houston, TX (Summer 2006).

Grand Bay NERR, MS:

(a) Measurement tower at Grand Bay NERR, showing two sets of Tekran reactive gaseous mercury and fine particulate mercury collection units; (b) Mercury measurement equipment in climate-controlled trailer adjacent to tower.

Speciated ambient mercury measurements began at the Grand Bay NERR in September 2006. Mercury measurements at this time were made with a single Tekran instrument suite at a temporary location (30.4294o N, -88.4277o W). In 2007, a second Tekran instrument suite was added and the site location was moved to its permanent location on FWS Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge property adjacent to the Grand Bay NERR (30.412o N, – 88.404o W). In January 2010, an aerosol soot carbon monitor was added as a tracer for combustion processes. In March 2010, a National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) Mercury Deposition Monitoring site was established and includes measurements for total mercury, trace metals, and monthly composite for methyl mercury in precipitation. An NADP National Trend Network site was also established at that time to measure major ions in precipitation.

NOAA’s National Ocean Service’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science provided assistance in purchasing measurement equipment for the site. Summaries of activities and measurements at the Grand Bay NERR site are available [1], [2], [3], [4], [5].

The two co-located mercury measurement systems at the site are particularly useful in that they:

  • provide quality control and quality assurance information (by comparing the concentrations measured by the two instruments)
  • allow methodological refinements to be tested
  • allows continuity of measurements in the event of instrument failure
  • allows for truly continuous measurements to be made if the instruments are operated asynchronously (note: due to inherent instrument operating conditions, the Tekran speciated mercury measurement suite provides concentration data in a periodic fashion, e.g., measurements for one hour and then no measurements for the next hour, etc. With two instruments operating asynchronously, it is possible to collect truly continuous measurements.)

Beltsville, MD:

In November 2006, the U.S. EPA Clean Air Markets Division (CAMD) and ARL established a comprehensive atmospheric mercury monitoring site (39.0284o N, -76.8172o W) near Beltsville, Maryland, on the campus of the USDA Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, and bordering the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service’s Patuxent National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). The site is located on parkland embedded within a suburban portion of the Washington, DC metropolitan area, and is representative of much of the semi-urban nature of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Other collaborating organizations at the site include the State of Maryland Department of Natural Resources and the University of Maryland. The Howard University Atmospheric Observatory, a multi-agency research facility for the study of atmospheric physics and chemistry, lies approximately 5 km to the northwest.

The Beltsville site includes two Tekran speciation systems measuring Hg0, RGM, and Hg(p), like the Grand Bay NERR site, providing comparable quality assurance, continuity and other benefits. Mercury compounds, ancillary trace gases (SO2, O3, CO, NO, NOy), and meteorological parameters are measured at a height of 10 meters to minimize local surface effects. The site also hosts measurements under the EPA CASTNet, NADP/NTN (major ions in precipitation) and MDN (mercury wet deposition) programs. These existing co-located measurements were an important factor in choosing the Beltsville location for enhanced mercury monitoring. Summaries of activities and measurements at the Beltsville site are available [3], [5], [6].

Mauna Loa Observatory:

Two people kneeling on an elevated wooden deck attaching cabling to two instrument boxes.

Dr. Winston Luke and Dr. Akane Yamakawa installing sampling equipment on the mercury platform at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Observatory. Credit: NOAA

In January 2011, ARL partnered with NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory and EPA’s Clean Air Markets Division (CAMD) to continue speciated mercury measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO) near Hilo, Hawaii. EPA’s Office of Research and Development established mercury measurements at MLO in 2001 (date approximate), but in 2011 funding for the site was transferred to CAMD.

MLO is located on the Island of Hawaii at an elevation of 3397 m on the northern flank of Mauna Loa volcano. The observatory was established in 1957, and is one of six global baseline monitoring stations for the study of the background global atmosphere. The first long-term carbon dioxide (CO2) measurements illustrating the seasonal and inter-annual variations in carbon dioxide (the “Keeling curve”) were made at MLO. Now, up to 250 different atmospheric parameters are measured there by a complement of 12 NOAA/ESRL and other agency scientists and engineers.

Species and parameters measured include carbon cycle flask sampling (for greenhouse gases, hydrocarbons, and measurements of carbon and oxygen isotopes); in situ carbon cycle and halocarbon measurements; aerosol measurements; continuous radiation measurements; surface and column ozone; lidar observations; and meteorological parameters. See the MLO web site for more information.

A single Tekran speciation system measures elemental mercury (Hg0. 5-minute measurements), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM, 1-hr measurements) and fine-particulate bound mercury (FPM. 1-hr measurements).

Winds are typically from the east and northeast (trade wind circulation), with local upslope (daytime) and downslope (nighttime) circulations superimposed on the mesoscale and synoptic flows.

Documents available for viewing or download

  1. Grand Bay Measurement Summary (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [15 MB]). Authors: Winston Luke and Mark Cohen. A set of slides summarizing mercury activities and measurements at the Grand Bay NERR, prepared in January 2008.
  2. Atmospheric mercury measurements in the Gulf of Mexico region: Early results from an emerging monitoring network(also available as a PowerPoint presentation [4 MB]). Authors: Winston Luke, Mark Cohen, Paul Kelley, Steve Brooks (NOAA/Air Resources Laboratory) and Jake Walker (Grand Bay NERR). Prepared for NADP 2007 Technical Committee Meeting, Boulder, CO, Sept. 10-13, 2007.
  3. Briefing for the USEPA Clean Air Markets Division regarding collaborative mercury measurements(also available as a PowerPoint presentation [15 MB]). Authors: Winston Luke and Mark Cohen. Prepared for a meeting between NOAA ARL and the U.S. EPA Clean Air Markets Division, Oct 1, 2007, in Washington D.C.
  4. Mercury-Related Research/Monitoring Activities – Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi. A two-page handout summarizing mercury measurement activities at the Grand Bay NERR, prepared for the National Mercury Monitoring Workshop, May 2008, in Annapolis, MD.
  5. Mercury Measurement Programs within NOAA/ARL (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [10 MB]). Authors: Steve Brooks, Mark Cohen, Tilden Meyers, Paul Kelley, Winston Luke. Prepared for the NOAA Atmospheric Mercury Meeting, November 14-15, 2006, Silver Spring, MD.
  6. Mercury Monitoring at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center/Patuxent NWR . A two-page handout prepared for the National Mercury Monitoring Workshop, May 2008, in Annapolis, MD.
  7. Mercury Monitoring in the Mid-Atlantic Highlands . A two-page handout summarizing mercury measurement activities at the Canaan Valley Institute, prepared for the National Mercury Monitoring Workshop, May 2008, in Annapolis, MD.

General Overviews:

  1. Mercury Overview / Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [13 MB]). Presentation at the Air Quality Research Subcommittee of the White House OSTP Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Sustainability (CENRS) , Oct 16, 2014, Washington, DC.
  2. Atmospheric Mercury Research (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [13 MB]). Presentation at the Air Resources Laboratory Review, May 3-5, 2011, Silver Spring, MD.
  3. Mercury Modeling 101 (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at Air Resources Laboratory 101, June 2012, Silver Spring, MD.
  4. NOAA Report to Congress on Great Lakes Mercury Contamination. Authors: Mark Cohen, Roland Draxler, and Richard Artz. Submitted to Congress on May 14, 2007. The report focuses on two areas: (a) the fate and transport of atmospheric mercury, including an analysis of the atmospheric transport and deposition of U.S. and Canadian anthropogenic mercury emissions to the Great Lakes using the NOAA HYSPLIT-Hg atmospheric mercury model; and (b) data regarding trends in Great Lakes mercury contamination, including trends in mercury air emissions and deposition, and in mercury concentrations in sediments, fish, and other biota.
  5. The Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [10 MB]). Presentation to Congressman Mark Kirk (R-IL) summarizing the Report to Congress on Great Lakes Mercury Contamination, June 12, 2007, Washington D.C.
  6. Mercury in the Environment: Where Does the Mercury in Fish Come From? (PowerPoint presentation* [32 MB]). Presentation at the NOAA OAR Senior Research Council Meeting, Sept 23, 2008, Silver Spring, MD.
  7. Source-Apportionment for Mercury Deposition: Where Does the Mercury in Mercury Deposition Come From? (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at the USGS Mercury Workshop, August 17-18, 2004, Reston, Virginia.
  8. Movie Showing Variations in Daily Deposition Flux for a Hypothetical Emissions Source of Reactive Gaseous Mercury, Accompanying “Source-Apportionment for Mercury Deposition: Where Does the Mercury in Mercury Deposition Come From?” (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [9 MB]). Presented at the USGS Mercury Workshop, August 17-18, 2004, Reston, Virginia.
  9. Source-Apportionment for Mercury Deposition: Where Does the Mercury in Mercury Deposition Come From? (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at the MARAMA Mercury Workshop, September 13-14, 2004, Cherry Hill, NJ.
  10. Atmospheric Mercury: Emissions, Transport/Fate, Source-Receptor Relationships (also available as a PowerPoint file [15 MB]). Presentation at the Collaborative Meeting on Modeling Mercury in Freshwater Environments, organized by IJC, EPA, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Niagara Falls, NY, January 19-20, 2006. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling, including current challenges faced, and detailed results for Lake Erie. Also includes a discussion of global anthropogenic emissions, natural emissions, and re-emissions, and a comparison of emissions in the U.S., Canada, and China.
  11. Atmospheric Mercury: Emissions, Transport/Fate, Source-Receptor Relationships (also available as a PowerPoint file [35 MB]). Presentation at the Appalachian Laboratory, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg State University, April 27, 2006
  12. Atmospheric Mercury Monitoring and Modeling Programs of the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory (PowerPoint presentation* [17 MB]). Presentation at the National Water Quality Monitoring Council Meeting, Dec 10, 2008, USGS, Reston, VA.
  13. Local and Regional Deposition Impacts of Atmospheric Mercury Emissions (also available as a PowerPoint file [26 MB]). Presentation to the Mercury Rule Workgroup, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, Harrisburg, PA, November 18, 2005. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling, and includes discussion of plume chemistry, and the potential importance of local and regional impacts of mercury emissions.
  14. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury (also available as a PowerPoint file [13 MB]). Presentation at “Mercury in Maryland” Meeting, Appalachian Lab, Univ. of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, Frostburg MD, Nov 2-3, 2005. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling, and includes discussion of the relative merits of different types of ambient measurements for use in model evaluation.
  15. Opportunities for Mercury Collaboration between the Air Resources Laboratory and the Ecosystem Research Program(also available as a PowerPoint presentation [29 MB]). Presentation to the NOAA Ecosystem Research Program, Feb 16, 2005, Silver Spring, MD.

Model Intercomparisons:

  1. Atmospheric Mercury Model Intercomparisons (also available as a PowerPoint file [10 MB]). Presentation at the Collaborative Meeting on Modeling Mercury in Freshwater Environments, organized by IJC, EPA, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment. Niagara Falls, NY, January 19-20, 2006. Discusses the importance of model intercomparisons, and gives examples of HYSPLIT-Hg results compared to many other models, including CMAQ and ISC.
  2. EMEP Intercomparison Study of Numerical Models for Long-Range Atmospheric Transport of Mercury (also available as aPowerPoint file [2 MB]). Presentation at the EMEP/TFMM Workshop on the Review of the MSC-E Models on HMs and POPs, Oct 13-14, 2005, Moscow, Russia. Summary of Phases I, II, and III of the Mercury Modeling Intercomparison Project.
  3. Intercomparison Study of Numerical Models for Long-Range Atmospheric Transport of Mercury. Stage II. . Ryaboshapko, A., R. Artz, O. Bullock, J. Christensen, M. Cohen, A. Dastoor, D. Davignon, R. Draxler, R. Ebinghaus, L. Ilyin, J. Mumthe, G. Petersen, D. Syrakov. Meteorological Synthesizing Centre – East, Cooperative Programme for Monitoring and Evaluation of the Long-Range Transmission of Air Pollutants in Europe. MSC-East: Moscow, Russia, 2003.
  4. Intercomparison study of atmospheric mercury models: 1. Comparison of models with short-term measurements. Ryaboshapko et al. (2007). Science of the Total Environment 376, 228-240.
  5. HYSPLIT Modeling in Phase II of the EMEP Mercury Modeling Intercomparison Study (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [4 MB]). Presentation at the Expert Meeting on Mercury Model Comparison, MSC-East, Moscow, Russia, April 15-16, 2003.
  6. Intercomparison Study of Numerical Models for Long Range Atmospheric Transport of Mercury. Stage III. Comparison of Modelling Results with Long-Term Observations and Comparison of Calculated Items of Regional Balances. Ryaboshapko, A., Artz, R., Bullock, R., Christensen, J., Cohen, M., Draxler, R., Ilyin, I., Munthe, J., Pacyna, J., Petersen, G., Syrakov, D., Travnikov, O. Meteorological Synthesizing Centre – East, Moscow, Russia, 2005.
  7. Intercomparison study of atmospheric mercury models: 2. Modelling results vs. long-term observations and comparison of country deposition budgets. Ryaboshapko et al. (2007). Science of the Total Environment 377, 319-333.

Great Lakes:

  1. Modeling Atmospheric Mercury Deposition to the Great Lakes: Updated Analysis. . Final Report for work conducted with FY2013 funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. M. Cohen, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, College Park, MD. Jan 11, 2016. 80 pages.
  2. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [10 MB]). Presented at the 12th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, June 18, 2015, Jeju, South Korea.
  3. Modeling Atmospheric Mercury Deposition to the Great Lakes: Projected Consequences of Alternative Future Emissions Scenarios. . Final Report for work conducted with FY2012 funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. M. Cohen, R. Draxler, R. Artz, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD. Oct 9, 2014. 194 pages.
  4. Executive Summary (only) from Modeling Atmospheric Mercury Deposition to the Great Lakes: Examination of the Influence of Variations in Model Inputs, Parameters, and Algorithms on Model Results. Executive Summary from Final Report for work conducted with FY2011 funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. M. Cohen, R. Draxler, R. Artz, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD. June 30, 2013.
  5. Modeling Atmospheric Mercury Deposition to the Great Lakes: Examination of the Influence of Variations in Model Inputs, Parameters, and Algorithms on Model Results. Final Report for work conducted with FY2011 funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. M. Cohen, R. Draxler, R. Artz, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD. June 30, 2013. 157 pages.
  6. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [38 MB]). Presented at the 11th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, July 28 – Aug 2, 2013, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  7. NOAA ARL Modeling Shows Large Contribution of Mercury to Great Lakes from Nearby Sources. Summary of the report below.
  8. Modeling Atmospheric Mercury Deposition to the Great Lakes. Final Report for work conducted with FY2010 funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative. M. Cohen, R. Draxler, R. Artz, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD. Dec 16, 2011. 160 pages.
  9. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [39 MB]). NOAA Air Resources Laboratory Seminar, February 7, 2013, NCWCP, College Park MD, Feb 7, 2013.
  10. Modeling the Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (work funded through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative), (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [16 MB]). Presentation to the International Joint Commissions International Air Quality Advisory Board, Washington, D.C., April 25, 2012.
  11. The Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (1999 updates) (also available as aPowerPoint presentation [10 MB]). Information prepared for the IJC Air Quality Advisory Board, April 16, 2004.
  12. Source-attribution for atmospheric mercury deposition: Where does the mercury in mercury deposition come from? (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [7 MB]) Presentation to the Mercury Working Group, Office of Air Quality, Indiana Department of Environmental Management, via speakerphone, April 21, 2005. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling and source-receptor relationships. Also includes detailed results for Lake Michigan.
  13. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [10 MB]). Presentation at the IJC Biennial Meeting, June 9, 2005, Kingston, Ontario. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling, including discussion of challenges faced. Also includes detailed results for Lake Ontario.
  14. The Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at An Ecosystem Approach to the Health Effects of Mercury in the Great Lakes Basin February 26-27, 2003, Windsor, Ontario.
  15. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes. Cohen, M., Artz, R., Draxler, R., Miller, P., Poissant, L., Niemi, D., Ratte, D., Deslauriers, M., Duval, R., Laurin, R., Slotnick, J., Nettesheim, T., and McDonald, J. (2004). Environmental Research 95(3), 247-265.
  16. Supplementary Information for: Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury to the Great Lakes. Cohen, M., Artz, R., Draxler, R., Miller, P., Poissant, L., Niemi, D., Ratte, D., Deslauriers, M., Duval, R., Laurin, R., Slotnick, J., Nettesheim, T., and McDonald, J. (2004). Environmental Research 95(3), 247-265.

Gulf of Mexico Region:

  1. Isotopic Composition of Species-Specific Atmospheric Hg in a Coastal Environment. Rolison, J.M., W.M. Landing, W. Luke, M. Cohen, V.J.M. Salters (2013). Chemical Geology 336, 37-49.
  2. Evaluating the HYSPLIT-Hg Atmospheric Mercury Model Using Ambient Monitoring Data (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [12 MB]). Presented at the 10th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, July 23-29, 2011, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
  3. Atmospheric Mercury Measurements and Modeling at the Grand Bay NERR (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [8 MB]). Presented at the Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Mercury Forum, May 10-12, 2010, Mote Marine Lab, Sarasota, FL.
  4. Atmospheric Mercury Measurements and Modeling at the Grand Bay NERR (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [18 MB]). Presented at a regional Mercury Measurements Meeting, January 13–15, 2010, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL.
  5. Simulations of Atmospheric Mercury with the NOAA HYSPLIT Model (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [9 MB]). Presented at The Symposium on Atmospheric Modeling and Application of GIS and Scientific Visualization Technologies for Risk Assessment, July 30-31, 2009, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS.
  6. Example Simulation with the NOAA HYSPLIT Model (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [7 MB]). Model-predicted mercury deposition (wet + dry) in the vicinity of one example Hg source for a 3 day period in April 2008. Presented at The Symposium on Atmospheric Modeling and Application of GIS and Scientific Visualization Technologies for Risk Assessment, July 30-31, 2009, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS.
  7. Where Does the Mercury in Atmospheric Mercury Deposition Come From? (PowerPoint presentation [15 MB]). A summary of atmospheric mercury monitoring and modeling activities in the Gulf of Mexico region, presented at the Gulf of Mexico Alliance Mercury Workshop, December 2-4, 2008, in Gulfport, Mississippi. Unlike most other presentations on this web page, this document is not available as a PDF but is only available as a PowerPoint 1997-2003 presentation (.ppt). This is because certain important animation features of the presentation could not be readily represented in a PDF file. For users that do not have PowerPoint installed on their computers, Microsoft (MS) offers a free PowerPoint Reader that can be downloaded from the MS website.
  8. Atmospheric Mercury Modeling at the NOAA Air Resources Laboratory using the HYSPLIT-Hg Model (also available as aPowerPoint file [11 MB]). Presentation at the Gulf Coast Mercury Research Collaboration Meeting, in Pensacola FL, May 18-19, 2006. Overview of HYSPLIT-Hg modeling and source-receptor results for Mobile Bay.
  9. NOAA’s Atmospheric Mercury Monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico Region (also available as a PowerPoint file [4 MB]). A summary of activities related to the new atmospheric mercury monitoring site at the Grand Bay NERR in Mississippi.

Other Regions:

  1. Modeling the Fate and Transport of Atmospheric Mercury in the Chesapeake Bay Region (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, May 17, 2004, Annapolis, MD.
  2. Modeling the Transport and Deposition of Atmospheric Mercury to the Great Lakes (and the Chesapeake Bay) (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at the 7th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP), Llubljana, Slovenia, June 27-July 2, 2004.
  3. Atmospheric Mercury in the Chesapeake Bay Region: A Measurement and Modeling Study (also available as a PowerPoint file [7 MB]). Poster presented at the NADP Meeting, Halifax, NS, Sept, 2004. Includes preliminary results for mercury measurements collected Summer 2004 at two sites on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay.
  4. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury (also available as a PowerPoint file [24 MB]). Presentation to the Maryland Department of the Environment, Aug 25, 2005. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling, including results for Deep Creek Lake.
  5. Modeling the Atmospheric Transport and Deposition of Mercury (also available as a PowerPoint file [26 MB]). Presentation for Baltimore City Dept of Law, Aug 25, 2005. General overview of atmospheric mercury modeling, including discussion of relative importance of local, regional, continental, and global sources.
  6. Simulating the Atmospheric Fate and Transport of Mercury using the NOAA HYSPLIT Model (also available as aPowerPoint file [19 MB]). Presentation at the 8th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Madison Wisconsin, August 2006. Analysis of Summer 2004 ambient Hg measurements at Oxford, MD, and discussion of new monitoring site plans at Grand Bay NERR, MS and Beltsville MD.
  7. Modeling the Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury to Lake Champlain (from Anthropogenic Sources in the U.S. and Canada) (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [11 MB]). Presentation at the Workshop on Coordination of Atmospheric Deposition Research in the Lake Champlain Basin, June 5-6, 2003, Burlington, Vermont.
  8. Simulating the Atmospheric Fate and Transport of Mercury using the NOAA HYSPLIT Model (also available as aPowerPoint file [5 MB]). Presentation at the NOAA Atmospheric Mercury Meeting November 14-15, 2006, Silver Spring MD. Includes overview of current modeling activities and results for Rock Creek MD watershed.

Time Trends:

  1. Atmospheric Mercury Deposition Impacts of Future Electric Power Generation. Final Report. Mark Cohen, NOAA Air Resources Laboratory, Silver Spring, MD. Project Manager and Co-Investigator: Paul J. Miller, Program Coordinator, Air Quality, Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC), Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Prepared for the CEC, December 8, 2003.
  2. Atmospheric Mercury Deposition Impacts of Future Electric Power Generation (also available as a PowerPoint presentation [9 MB]). Presentation at Mercury in the Great Lakes Region, Sponsored by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation’s Environment, Economy and Trade and Pollutants and Health Programs in cooperation with the Binational Toxic Strategy, December 17th, 2003, Chicago, IL.
  3. Mercury in the Environment and Patterns of Mercury Deposition from the NADP/MDN Mercury Deposition Network. Final Report to USEPA Clean Air Markets Division, January 2007. Authors: Tom Butler and Gene Likens (Institute of Ecosystem Studies), Mark Cohen (NOAA Air Resources Lab), and Francoise Vermeylen (Cornell University).
  4. Mercury at MDN sites, 1998-2005: Declines in the Northeast, No Change in the Southeast (also available as a PowerPoint file [2 MB]). Authors: Tom Butler, Gene Likens, Mark Cohen, Francoise Vermeylen, David Schmeltz and Richard Artz. Poster presented by Tom Butler at the National Atmospheric Deposition Program 29th Annual Technical Meeting – NADP 2006: Effects of Deposition in Coastal and Urban Environments. Norfolk, Virginia, 24-26 October 2006.
  5. Regional precipitation mercury trends in the eastern USA, 1998-2005: Declines in the Northeast and Midwest, no trend in the Southeast. T. Butler, M. Cohen, F. Vermeylen, G. Likens, D. Schmeltz, R Artz (2008). Atmospheric Environment 42, 1582-1592.

Multimedia Mercury Modeling:

  1. A synthesis of rates and controls on elemental mercury evasion in the Great Lakes Basin. Joseph S. Denkenberger, Charles T. Driscoll, Brian A. Branfireun, Chris S. Eckley, Mark Cohen, Pranesh Selvendiran (2012). Environmental Pollution 161291-298.
  2. Reconciling models and measurements to assess trends in atmospheric mercury deposition. E. Sunderland, M. Cohen, N. Selin, G. Chmura (2008). Environmental Pollution 156 526-535.
  3. Atmospheric Fate and Transport of Mercury (also available as a PowerPoint file [8 MB]). Presentation at the Lake Ontario Contaminant Monitoring & Research Workshop Planning for the 2008 Cooperative Monitoring Year (Contaminants Component), Grand Island, New York, March 27 & 28, 2007. Includes discussions of: (a) ongoing efforts to link atmospheric mercury models with mercury models in other media; (b) atmospheric modeling needs and goals; (c) results for Lake Ontario.