Mercury Depletion Events in the Troposphere in Mid-Latitudes at the Dead Sea, Israel

摘要

The occurrence of mercury depletion events (MDE) in the Polar Regions during the spring periods has raised global concern due to the biomagnifications of the deposited mercury into the aquatic food chain. However, it now appears that MDE is not limited to the Polar Regions and can also occur at mid-latitudes. Diurnal cycles of mercury, ozone, and BrO behavior based on short-time resolution measurements are presented for the Dead Sea, Israel, for Summer 2006. The results show that mercury depletion events occur almost daily, accompanied always by the presence of BrO and concurrent ozone destruction. The intensity of the MDE corresponded to increasing BrO levels. Mercury depletions of more than 40% were observed when BrO levels rose above 60-70 ppt.