Modeling and mapping of atmospheric mercury deposition in adirondack park, new york

PLoS One. 2013;8(3):e59322. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0059322. Epub 2013 Mar 25.

Abstract

The Adirondacks of New York State, USA is a region that is sensitive to atmospheric mercury (Hg) deposition. In this study, we estimated atmospheric Hg deposition to the Adirondacks using a new scheme that combined numerical modeling and limited experimental data. The majority of the land cover in the Adirondacks is forested with 47% of the total area deciduous, 20% coniferous and 10% mixed. We used litterfall plus throughfall deposition as the total atmospheric Hg deposition to coniferous and deciduous forests during the leaf-on period, and wet Hg deposition plus modeled atmospheric dry Hg deposition as the total Hg deposition to the deciduous forest during the leaf-off period and for the non-forested areas year-around. To estimate atmospheric dry Hg deposition we used the Big Leaf model. The average atmospheric Hg deposition to the Adirondacks was estimated as 17.4 [Formula: see text]g m[Formula: see text] yr[Formula: see text] with a range of -3.7-46.0 [Formula: see text]g m[Formula: see text] yr[Formula: see text]. Atmospheric Hg dry deposition (370 kg yr[Formula: see text]) was found to be more important than wet deposition (210 kg yr[Formula: see text]) to the entire Adirondacks (2.4 million ha). The spatial pattern showed a large variation in atmospheric Hg deposition with scattered areas in the eastern Adirondacks having total Hg deposition greater than 30 μg m(-2) yr(-1), while the southwestern and the northern areas received Hg deposition ranging from 25-30 μg m(-2) yr(-1).

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Air Pollutants / analysis*
  • Algorithms
  • Environmental Monitoring*
  • Geography
  • Mercury / analysis*
  • Models, Theoretical*
  • New York
  • Seasons
  • Trees

Substances

  • Air Pollutants
  • Mercury

Grants and funding

Support for this research was provided by New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The website for New York State Energy Research and Development Authority is: http://www.nyserda.ny.gov/. The website for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is: http://www.epa.gov/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.