Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013
Tropospheric sections of flights with the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrumented Container) observatory from May 2005 until June 2013, are investigated for the occurrence of plumes with elevated Hg concentrations. Additional information on CO, CO...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2014-05-01
|
Series: | Atmosphere |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/5/2/342 |
id |
doaj-1b89dff2814f48edae49ed1cd40531ba |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-1b89dff2814f48edae49ed1cd40531ba2020-11-24T23:30:51ZengMDPI AGAtmosphere2073-44332014-05-015234236910.3390/atmos5020342atmos5020342Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013Franz Slemr0Andreas Weigelt1Ralf Ebinghaus2Carl Brenninkmeijer3Angela Baker4Tanja Schuck5Armin Rauthe-Schöch6Hella Riede7Emma Leedham8Markus Hermann9Peter van Velthoven10David Oram11Debbie O'Sullivan12Christoph Dyroff13Andreas Zahn14Helmut Ziereis15Atmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyInstitute of Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG), Max-Planck-Straße 1, D-21502 Geesthacht, GermanyInstitute of Coastal Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht (HZG), Max-Planck-Straße 1, D-21502 Geesthacht, GermanyAtmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyAtmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyAtmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyAtmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyAtmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyAtmospheric Chemistry Division, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (MPI), Hahn-Meitner-Weg 1, D-55128 Mainz, GermanyLeibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung (TROPOS), Permoserstrasse 15, D-04318 Leipzig, GermanyRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI), P.O. Box 201, NL-3730 AE De Bilt, The NetherlandsNational Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich NR4 7TJ, UKNational Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of East Anglia (UEA), Norwich NR4 7TJ, UKInstitute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, D-76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, GermanyInstitute of Meteorology and Climate Research, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, D-76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen, GermanyInstitut für Physik der Atmosphäre, Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR), D-82230 Wessling, GermanyTropospheric sections of flights with the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrumented Container) observatory from May 2005 until June 2013, are investigated for the occurrence of plumes with elevated Hg concentrations. Additional information on CO, CO2, CH4, NOy, O3, hydrocarbons, halocarbons, acetone and acetonitrile enable us to attribute the plumes to biomass burning, urban/industrial sources or a mixture of both. Altogether, 98 pollution plumes with elevated Hg concentrations and CO mixing ratios were encountered, and the Hg/CO emission ratios for 49 of them could be calculated. Most of the plumes were found over East Asia, in the African equatorial region, over South America and over Pakistan and India. The plumes encountered over equatorial Africa and over South America originate predominantly from biomass burning, as evidenced by the low Hg/CO emission ratios and elevated mixing ratios of acetonitrile, CH3Cl and particle concentrations. The backward trajectories point to the regions around the Rift Valley and the Amazon Basin, with its outskirts, as the source areas. The plumes encountered over East Asia and over Pakistan and India are predominantly of urban/industrial origin, sometimes mixed with products of biomass/biofuel burning. Backward trajectories point mostly to source areas in China and northern India. The Hg/CO2 and Hg/CH4 emission ratios for several plumes are also presented and discussed.http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/5/2/342mercuryemissionairpollution |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Franz Slemr Andreas Weigelt Ralf Ebinghaus Carl Brenninkmeijer Angela Baker Tanja Schuck Armin Rauthe-Schöch Hella Riede Emma Leedham Markus Hermann Peter van Velthoven David Oram Debbie O'Sullivan Christoph Dyroff Andreas Zahn Helmut Ziereis |
spellingShingle |
Franz Slemr Andreas Weigelt Ralf Ebinghaus Carl Brenninkmeijer Angela Baker Tanja Schuck Armin Rauthe-Schöch Hella Riede Emma Leedham Markus Hermann Peter van Velthoven David Oram Debbie O'Sullivan Christoph Dyroff Andreas Zahn Helmut Ziereis Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013 Atmosphere mercury emission air pollution |
author_facet |
Franz Slemr Andreas Weigelt Ralf Ebinghaus Carl Brenninkmeijer Angela Baker Tanja Schuck Armin Rauthe-Schöch Hella Riede Emma Leedham Markus Hermann Peter van Velthoven David Oram Debbie O'Sullivan Christoph Dyroff Andreas Zahn Helmut Ziereis |
author_sort |
Franz Slemr |
title |
Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013 |
title_short |
Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013 |
title_full |
Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013 |
title_fullStr |
Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mercury Plumes in the Global Upper Troposphere Observed during Flights with the CARIBIC Observatory from May 2005 until June 2013 |
title_sort |
mercury plumes in the global upper troposphere observed during flights with the caribic observatory from may 2005 until june 2013 |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Atmosphere |
issn |
2073-4433 |
publishDate |
2014-05-01 |
description |
Tropospheric sections of flights with the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrumented Container) observatory from May 2005 until June 2013, are investigated for the occurrence of plumes with elevated Hg concentrations. Additional information on CO, CO2, CH4, NOy, O3, hydrocarbons, halocarbons, acetone and acetonitrile enable us to attribute the plumes to biomass burning, urban/industrial sources or a mixture of both. Altogether, 98 pollution plumes with elevated Hg concentrations and CO mixing ratios were encountered, and the Hg/CO emission ratios for 49 of them could be calculated. Most of the plumes were found over East Asia, in the African equatorial region, over South America and over Pakistan and India. The plumes encountered over equatorial Africa and over South America originate predominantly from biomass burning, as evidenced by the low Hg/CO emission ratios and elevated mixing ratios of acetonitrile, CH3Cl and particle concentrations. The backward trajectories point to the regions around the Rift Valley and the Amazon Basin, with its outskirts, as the source areas. The plumes encountered over East Asia and over Pakistan and India are predominantly of urban/industrial origin, sometimes mixed with products of biomass/biofuel burning. Backward trajectories point mostly to source areas in China and northern India. The Hg/CO2 and Hg/CH4 emission ratios for several plumes are also presented and discussed. |
topic |
mercury emission air pollution |
url |
http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4433/5/2/342 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT franzslemr mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT andreasweigelt mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT ralfebinghaus mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT carlbrenninkmeijer mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT angelabaker mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT tanjaschuck mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT arminrautheschoch mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT hellariede mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT emmaleedham mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT markushermann mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT petervanvelthoven mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT davidoram mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT debbieosullivan mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT christophdyroff mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT andreaszahn mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 AT helmutziereis mercuryplumesintheglobaluppertroposphereobservedduringflightswiththecaribicobservatoryfrommay2005untiljune2013 |
_version_ |
1725539944581038080 |