Mercury in the free troposphere and bidirectional atmosphere–vegetation exchanges – insights from Maïdo mountain observatory in the Southern Hemisphere tropics

Koenig, Alkuin M.; Magand, Olivier; Verreyken, Bert; Brioude, Jerome; Amelynck, Crist; Schoon, Niels; Colomb, Aurélie; Ferreira Araujo, Beatriz; Ramonet, Michel; Sha, Mahesh K.; Cammas, Jean-Pierre; Sonke, Jeroen E.; Dommergue, Aurélien

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1309-2023

Articles | Volume 23, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1309-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1309-2023

© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 2

Research article

|

24 Jan 2023

Research article |

| 24 Jan 2023

Mercury in the free troposphere and bidirectional atmosphere–vegetation exchanges – insights from Maïdo mountain observatory in the Southern Hemisphere tropics

Alkuin M. Koenig, Olivier Magand, Bert Verreyken, Jerome Brioude, Crist Amelynck, Niels Schoon, Aurélie Colomb, Beatriz Ferreira Araujo, Michel Ramonet, Mahesh K. Sha, Jean-Pierre Cammas, Jeroen E. Sonke, and Aurélien Dommergue

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-1309-2023-supplement

Data sets

Continuous measurements of atmospheric mercury at Maido Observatory (L2) O. Magand and A. Dommergue https://doi.org/10.25326/352

Long-term in situ (O)VOC measurements at the Maïdo Observatory (Reunion Island) C. Amelynck, N. Schoon, and B. Verreyken https://doi.org/10.18758/71021061

ICOS Atmosphere Level 2 data, La Réunion, release 2022-1 M. De Mazière, M. K. Sha, M. Ramonet, and ICOS RI https://doi.org/10.18160/10QG-6RP6

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Short summary

The global distribution of mercury, a potent neurotoxin, depends on atmospheric transport, chemistry, and interactions between the Earth’s surface and the air. Our understanding of these processes is still hampered by insufficient observations. Here, we present new data from a mountain observatory in the Southern Hemisphere. We give insights into mercury concentrations in air masses coming from aloft, and we show that tropical mountain vegetation may be a daytime source of mercury to the air.