Articles | Volume 21, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3447-2021
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-3447-2021
Research article
 | 
05 Mar 2021
Research article |  | 05 Mar 2021

Seasonal patterns of atmospheric mercury in tropical South America as inferred by a continuous total gaseous mercury record at Chacaltaya station (5240 m) in Bolivia

Alkuin Maximilian Koenig, Olivier Magand, Paolo Laj, Marcos Andrade, Isabel Moreno, Fernando Velarde, Grover Salvatierra, René Gutierrez, Luis Blacutt, Diego Aliaga, Thomas Reichler, Karine Sellegri, Olivier Laurent, Michel Ramonet, and Aurélien Dommergue

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Measurement report: Molecular-level investigation of atmospheric cluster ions at the tropical high-altitude research station Chacaltaya (5240 m a.s.l.) in the Bolivian Andes
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Cited articles

Ambrizzi, T., de Souza, E. B., and Pulwarty, R. S.: The Hadley and Walker Regional Circulations and Associated ENSO Impacts on South American Seasonal Rainfall, in: The Hadley Circulation: Present, Past and Future, edited by: Diaz, H. F. and Bradley, R. S., Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 21, 203–235, 2004. 
Ambrose, J. L.: Improved methods for signal processing in measurements of mercury by Tekran®2537A and 2537B instruments, Atmos. Meas. Tech., 10, 5063–5073, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-10-5063-2017, 2017. 
Angot, H., Barret, M., Magand, O., Ramonet, M., and Dommergue, A.: A 2-year record of atmospheric mercury species at a background Southern Hemisphere station on Amsterdam Island, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11461–11473, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11461-2014, 2014. 
Bagnato, E., Aiuppa, A., Parello, F., Allard, P., Shinohara, H., Liuzzo, M., and Giudice, G.: New clues on the contribution of Earth's volcanism to the global mercury cycle, B. Volcanol., 73, 497–510, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-010-0419-y, 2011. 
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Short summary
The environmental cycling of atmospheric mercury, a harmful global contaminant, is still not sufficiently constrained, partly due to missing data in remote regions. Here, we address this issue by presenting 20 months of atmospheric mercury measurements, sampled in the Bolivian Andes. We observe a significant seasonal pattern, whose key features we explore. Moreover, we deduce ratios to constrain South American biomass burning mercury emissions and the mercury uptake by the Amazon rainforest.
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