Testing and Application of Surrogate Surfaces for Understanding Potential Gaseous Oxidized Mercury Dry Deposition

Currently there is no standard method for measurement of atmospheric mercury dry deposition. While all operationally defined forms of atmospheric mercury (elemental, oxidized, and particulate) can be dry deposited, oxidized forms are of concern due to high deposition velocities, water solubility, and reactivity. This paper describes the development of a surrogate surface for characterizing potential dry deposition of gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM). Laboratory tests showed that the surface collected HgCl2, HgBr2, and HgO with equal efficiency, and deposition was not significantly influenced by temperature, humidity, or ozone concentrations. Deposition of mercury to surfaces in field deployments was correlated with GOM concentrations (r 2 = 0.84, p < 0.01, n = 326). Weekly mean GOM deposition velocities from surface deployments (1.1 ± 0.6 cm s−1) were higher than modeled values (0.4 ± 0.2 cm s−1) at four field sites, but were within the range reported for direct measurements. Although the surfaces do not simulate the heterogeneity of natural surfaces and need to be validated by direct measurements, they do provide a physical means for estimating temporal trends and spatial variability of dry deposition of GOM.