Technical note: A framework for causal inference applied to solar radiation and temperature effects on measured levels of gaseous elemental mercury in seawater

Heyn, Hans-Martin; Nerentorp Mastromonaco, Michelle

doi:10.5194/acp-26-4785-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 7

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4785-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

Mercury science to inform international policy: the Multi-Compartment...

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-4785-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 7

Technical note

|

13 Apr 2026

Technical note |

| 13 Apr 2026

Technical note: A framework for causal inference applied to solar radiation and temperature effects on measured levels of gaseous elemental mercury in seawater

Hans-Martin Heyn and Michelle Nerentorp Mastromonaco

Data sets

Replication Data for: Estimating effect sizes of solar radiation and temperature on dissolved gaseous mercury in seawater using a proposed framework for causal inference Hans-Martin Heyn et al. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/4P59FV

Model code and software

Replication Data for: Estimating effect sizes of solar radiation and temperature on dissolved gaseous mercury in seawater using a proposed framework for causal inference Hans-Martin Heyn et al. https://doi.org/10.7910/DVN/4P59FV

Short summary

We studied how environmental factors influence the release of mercury from seawater to the atmosphere. We applied a novel approach in which prior knowledge about cause-and-effect is captured as graphical models and then used to estimate effect sizes. Results showed that sunlight affects mercury both directly and indirectly, with about 32 % of the effect explained by temperature increase. Thus, causal models can improve our understanding of pollution processes and the effect policies.