Total particulate and reactive gaseous mercury in ambient air on the eastern slope of the Mt. Gongga area, China

Total particulate mercury (TPM) and reactive gaseous mercury (RGM) concentrations in ambient air on the eastern slope of the Mt. Gongga area, Sichuan Province, Southwestern China were monitored from 25 May, 2005 to 29 April, 2006. Simultaneously, Hg concentrations in rain samples were measured from January to December, 2006. The average TPM and RGM concentrations in the study site were 30.7 and 6.2 pg m−3, which are comparable to values observed in remote areas in Northern America and Europe, but much lower than those reported in some urban areas in China. The mean seasonal RGM concentration was slightly higher in spring (8.0 pg m−3) while the minimum mean concentration was observed in winter (4.0 pg m−3). TPM concentrations ranged across two orders of magnitude from 5.2 to 135.7 pg m−3 and had a clear seasonal variation: winter (74.1 pg m−3), autumn (22.5 pg m−3), spring (15.3 pg m−3) and summer (10.8 pg m−3), listed in decreasing order. The annual wet deposition was 9.1 μg m−2 and wet deposition in the rainy season (May–October) represented over 80% of the annual total. The temporal distribution of TPM and RGM suggested distinguishable dispersion characteristics of these Hg species on a regional scale. Elevated TPM concentration in winter was probably due to regional and local enhanced coal burning and low wet deposition velocity. The RGM distribution pattern is closely related to daily variation in UV radiation observed during the winter sampling period indicating that photo-oxidation processes and diurnal changes in meteorology play an important role in RGM generation.