The study of the mercury cycle in polar regions: An international study in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard

Christophe P. Ferrari (1) , Pierre-Alexis Gauchard (1) , Olivier Magand (1) , Katrine Aspmo (2) , Christian Temme (3) , Alexandra Steffen (4) , Torunn Berg (2) , Johan Strom (5) , Aurelien Dommergue (1) , Enno Bahlmann (3) , Frédéric Planchon (6) , Ralf Ebinghaus (3) , Cathy Banic (4) , Sonia Nagorski (1) , Patrick Baussand (7) , Pierre Amato (8) , Xavier Fain (1) , Raphaelle Hennebelle (1) , A.M. Delort (9) , Martine Sancelme (9) , Warren R. L. Cairns (10) , Carlo Barbante (6) , Paolo Cescon (6) , Lars Kaleschke (11) , Claude F. Boutron (1)

1 LGGE - Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement
2 NILU - Norwegian Institute for Air Research
3 GKSS-Research Center
4 Air Quality Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada
5 ITM - Institute of Applied Environmental Research [Stockholm]
6 Environmental Sciences Department
7 GRECA - Groupe de Recherche sur l'Environnement et la Chimie Atmosphérique
8 LaMP - Laboratoire de météorologie physique
9 SEESIB - Synthèse et étude de systèmes à intêret biologique
10 Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR
11 IUP - Institute of Environmental Physics [Bremen]

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic pollutant and it can be strongly accumulated in the food chain, especially in Polar Regions. This paper presents a part of the work that has been on-going for 3-4 years in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard within the frame of an international collaboration. In Ny-Alesund in spring 2003, the atmospheric chemistry of mercury has been studied so as to better understand the formation of oxidized mercury species in the atmosphere that could be deposited onto snow surfaces. The role of snow as a potential source of mercury to the atmosphere or as a sink has also been approached to better understand the behavior of this metal. Chemical and biological processes seem to play a major role in Hg storage in snow. When melting, snow could be a major source of Hg into the various ecosystems and this toxin could therefore be accumulated into the food chain.

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Glaciology

Christophe P. Ferrari, Pierre-Alexis Gauchard, Olivier Magand, Katrine Aspmo, Christian Temme, et al.. The study of the mercury cycle in polar regions: An international study in Ny-Alesund, Svalbard. Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research, 2006, 59 (Special issue), pp.168 à 184. ⟨insu-00381216⟩