Temporal variation of gaseous elemental mercury in a northern coastal city in China: Monsoon and COVID-19 lockdown effects

Atmospheric Pollution Research

article

Long Shao¹  Yan Wang¹  Xiaoyu Liu¹  Ruhai Liu¹  Kun Han¹  Yuqing Zhang³ 

[1] Key Laboratory of Marine Environmental Science and Ecology, Ministry of Education, Ocean University of China;College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Ocean University of China;Qingdao Environmental Monitoring Center

关键词: Temporal variation;    Monsoon effects;    Anthropogenic emissions;    Potential sources;    COVID-19 lockdown;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.apr.2022.101436

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

来源: Dokuz Eylul Universitesi * Department of Environmental Engineering

【 摘 要 】

Continuous measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) were conducted in Qingdao from March 2020 to March 2021. The average concentration of GEM was (2.39 ± 1.07 ng/m 3 ) with a variation range of 0.27–10.78 ng/m 3 . GEM exhibited a clear pattern of daily variation, with daily peaks occurring between 11:00–13:00. GEM concentrations were higher in winter (2.80 ± 1.28 ng/m 3 ) than that in summer (2.18 ± 1.05 ng/m 3 ). The high winter concentrations were related to coal-fired heating and the increased frequency of polluted weather in northern China. Principal component analysis showed that the main factors affecting GEM concentration were fossil fuel combustion , natural source release and atmospheric diffusion conditions. The anthropogenic emission sources were the main source of GEM in spring and winter, and natural sources of GEM was large in summer. The potential source contribution function suggested that North and Central China were the main potential sources of GEM, and there were large differences in the potential sources of GEM in different seasons. Comparing the GEM in the same time periods in 2018, 2020, and 2021, government policies, temporary lockdown measures for the COVID-19 epidemic, and urban village renovation led to a decreasing trend of GEM concentrations. This study contributes to a better understanding of the effects of long-range transport of air masses and anthropogenic emissions on atmospheric mercury in eastern coastal cities and offshore areas.

【 授权许可】

CC BY