Evaluating atmospheric mercury (Hg) uptake by vegetation in a chemistry-transport model.

ABSTRACT: Mercury (Hg), a neurotoxic heavy metal, is transferred to marine and terrestrial ecosystems through atmospheric transport. Recent studies have highlighted the role of vegetation uptake as a sink for atmospheric elemental mercury (Hg⁰) and a source of Hg to soils. However, the global magnitude of the Hg⁰ vegetation uptake flux is highly uncertain, with estimates ranging 1000-4000 Mg per year. To constrain this sink, we compare simulations in the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem with a compiled database of litterfall, throughfall, and flux tower measurements from 93 forested sites. The prior version of GEOS-Chem predicts median Hg⁰ dry deposition velocities similar to litterfall measurements from Northern hemisphere temperate and boreal forests (∼0.03 cm s<

SUBMITTER: Feinberg A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9491292 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature