Controlling Factors of Long-Term Trends in Mercury Wet Deposition and Precipitation Concentrations at Huntington Wildlife Forest

Abstract:

Observations from the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) at Huntington Wildlife Forest (HWF) suggested that a significant decline (r² = 0.34, p = 0.03) from 2000 to 2013 in volume weighted mean (VWM) Hg concentrations in precipitation was linked to Hg emission decreases in the United States, especially in the Northeast and Midwest, and yet Hg wet deposition has remained fairly constant over the past two decades. The present study aimed to investigate the climatic, terrestrial, and anthropogenic factors that influenced the decadal pattern in Hg wet deposition in upstate NY. In spring and summer, when Hg wet deposition was the strongest, significant positive correlation (r² = 0.89, p < 0.0001 in spring; r² = 0.58, p = 0.002 in summer) of Hg wet deposition with precipitation was found. Increases in precipitation during these seasons could offset the decreasing of Hg concentration in precipitation. Besides, springtime positive correlation (r² = 0.35, p = 0.02) between precipitation and the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index together with geopotential height and wind speed analysis indicated that large-scale dynamical forcing was likely an important factor influencing the long term trend in springtime Hg wet deposition at HWF. To further quantify the roles of meteorological and anthropogenic factors in Hg wet deposition, the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model was employed using an algorithm depicting state-of-the-art Hg chemistry mechanism and up-to-date Hg emission inventories evaluated with MDN and Atmospheric Mercury Network (AMNet) measurement data. CMAQ simulations with a constant vs. realistic meteorological conditions for multiple warm seasons (including spring and summer) were used to characterize and quantify the impacts of inter-annual variability of precipitation and atmospheric circulation on Hg wet deposition. In addition, contributions to Hg wet deposition from decreases in anthropogenic emissions in NYS and nation-wide were quantified from the model results.