Global Mercury Observatory System (GMOS): measurements of atmospheric mercury in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico during 2012

Velasco, Antonio; Arcega-Cabrera, Flor; Oceguera-Vargas, Ismael; Ramirez, Martha; Ortinez, Abraham; Umlauf, Gunther; Sena, Fabrizio

Global Mercury Observatory System (GMOS): measurements of atmospheric mercury in Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico during 2012

2016

Within the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) project, long-term continuous measurements of total gaseous mercury (TGM) were carried out by a monitoring station located at Celestun, Yucatan, Mexico, a coastal site along the Gulf of Mexico. The measurements covered the period from January 28th to October 17th, 2012. TGM data, at the Celestun site, were obtained using a high-resolution mercury vapor analyzer. TGM data show values from 0.50 to 2.82 ng/m³ with an annual average concentration of 1.047 ± 0.271 ng/m³. Multivariate analyses of TGM and meteorological variables suggest that TGM is correlated with the vertical air mass distribution in the atmosphere, which is influenced by diurnal variations in temperature and relative humidity. Diurnal variation is characterized by higher nighttime mercury concentrations, which might be influenced by convection currents between sea and land. The back trajectory analysis confirmed that local sources do not significantly influence TGM variations. This study shows that TGM monitoring at the Celestun site fulfills GMOS goals for a background site.

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