89th American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting

Monday, 12 January 2009: 5:00 PM
Meteorological, physical and numerical issues in modeling the long-range transport of mercury
Room 127A (Phoenix Convention Center)
Dorothy A. Durnford, EC, Dorval, QC, Canada; and A. Dastoor and D. Figueras-Nieto
Once released into the atmosphere, by both natural processes and anthropogenic activities, mercury is transported around the globe. It is deposited, reemitted and transported further. This movement of mercury is of great interest, given that it can be converted to a toxic form that bioaccumulates. We model the long-range transport of mercury to the west coast of North America and the Arctic. A series of simulations, verified against surface observations, will be presented. These experiments undertake to determine the relative importance of meteorological, physical and model issues; winds and precipitation transport mercury, while varying the model resolution impacts all fields. We will also analyze high mercury concentration episodes, considering global source attribution and transport mechanisms.

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