The Marginal Ice Zone as a dominant source region of atmospheric mercury during central Arctic summertime

Fange Yue, Hélène Angot (), Byron Blomquist, Julia Schmale, Clara J. M. Hoppe, Ruibo Lei, Matthew D. Shupe, Liyang Zhan, Jian Ren, Hailong Liu, Ivo Beck, Dean Howard, Tuija Jokinen, Tiia Laurila, Lauriane Quéléver, Matthew Boyer, Tuukka Petäjä, Stephen Archer, Ludovic Bariteau, Detlev Helmig, Jacques Hueber, Hans-Werner Jacobi, Kevin Posman and Zhouqing Xie ()
Additional contact information
Fange Yue: University of Science and Technology of China
Hélène Angot: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Valais Wallis
Byron Blomquist: University of Colorado
Julia Schmale: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Valais Wallis
Clara J. M. Hoppe: Alfred Wegener Institut—Helmholtzzentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12
Ruibo Lei: Polar Research Institute of China
Matthew D. Shupe: University of Colorado
Liyang Zhan: Ministry of natural resources
Jian Ren: Second Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources
Hailong Liu: Shanghai Jiao Tong University
Ivo Beck: École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) Valais Wallis
Dean Howard: University of Colorado
Tuija Jokinen: University of Helsinki
Tiia Laurila: University of Helsinki
Lauriane Quéléver: University of Helsinki
Matthew Boyer: University of Helsinki
Tuukka Petäjä: University of Helsinki
Stephen Archer: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Ludovic Bariteau: University of Colorado
Detlev Helmig: Boulder Atmosphere Innovation Research
Jacques Hueber: JH Atmospheric Instrumentation Design
Hans-Werner Jacobi: Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, INRAE, IRD, Grenoble INP, IGE
Kevin Posman: Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences
Zhouqing Xie: University of Science and Technology of China

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Atmospheric gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations in the Arctic exhibit a clear summertime maximum, while the origin of this peak is still a matter of debate in the community. Based on summertime observations during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition and a modeling approach, we further investigate the sources of atmospheric Hg in the central Arctic. Simulations with a generalized additive model (GAM) show that long-range transport of anthropogenic and terrestrial Hg from lower latitudes is a minor contribution (~2%), and more than 50% of the explained GEM variability is caused by oceanic evasion. A potential source contribution function (PSCF) analysis further shows that oceanic evasion is not significant throughout the ice-covered central Arctic Ocean but mainly occurs in the Marginal Ice Zone (MIZ) due to the specific environmental conditions in that region. Our results suggest that this regional process could be the leading contributor to the observed summertime GEM maximum. In the context of rapid Arctic warming and the observed increase in width of the MIZ, oceanic Hg evasion may become more significant and strengthen the role of the central Arctic Ocean as a summertime source of atmospheric Hg.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-40660-9

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