ATMOSPHERIC MERCURY MEASUREMENTS IN THE NORTHERN-HEMISPHERE FROM 56-DEGREES TO 82.5-DEGREES N LATITUDE

Sampling of total gaseous mercury (TGM) in air was initiated at Alert, Northwest Territories, Canada (82.5 degrees N;62.3 degrees W) by Atmo spheric Environment Service (AES) staff during August 1992 on an explo ratory basis for a year. TGM was pre-concentrated onto traps (2 in ser ies) containing Au-coated quartz sand for sampling periods of 1 (or mo re) week(s) at now-rates of 30 - 50 mL/min. During the first winter cr uise of the RV ''POLARSTERN'' from Germany (56 degrees N) to the Nordi c Seas, and at an ice-camp (81 degrees N;5 degrees E) in the Arctic, s imultaneous samples of TGM and aerosol black carbon (''soot'') were co llected, from February to April 1993, by the GKSS group. The analytica l methods for TGM determinations (2-stage gold amalgamation/thermal de sorption, followed by cold-vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy) wer e essentially the same for both studies. Experimental details, results , and conclusions are presented and discussed.