RESEARCH ARTICLE · Atmospheric measurement techniques · 2020

Eddy covariance flux measurements of gaseous elemental mercury over a grassland

Stefan Osterwalder, Werner Eugster A, Iris Feigenwinter, Martin Jiskra

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Abstract

Abstract. Direct measurements of the net ecosystem exchange (NEE) of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) are crucial to improve the understanding of global Hg cycling und ultimately human and wildlife Hg exposure. The lack of long-term, ecosystem-scale measurements causes large uncertainties in Hg0 flux estimates. Today it remains unclear whether terrestrial ecosystems are net sinks or sources of atmospheric Hg0. Here we show a detailed validation of the eddy covariance technique for direct Hg0 flux measurements (Eddy Mercury) based on a Lumex mercury monitor RA-915AM. The flux detection limit derived from a zero-flux experiment in the laboratory was 0.22 ng m−2 h−1 (maximum) with a 50 % cut-off at 0.074 ng m−2 h−1. The statistical estimate of the Hg0 flux detection limit under real-world outdoor conditions at the site was 5.9 ng m−2 h−1 (50 % cut-off). We present the first successful eddy covariance NEE measurements of Hg0 over a low-Hg level soil (41–75 ng Hg g−1 topsoil [0–10 cm]) in summer 2018 at a managed grassland at the Swiss FluxNet site in Chamau, Switzerland (CH-Cha). We measured a net summertime re-emission over a period of 34 days with a median Hg0 flux of 2.5 ng m−2 h−1 (−0.6 to 7.4 ng m−2 h−1, range between 25th and 75th percentiles). We observed a distinct diel cycle with higher median daytime fluxes (8.4 ng m−2 h−1) than nighttime fluxes (1.0 ng m−2 h−1). Drought stress during the measurement campaign in summer 2018 induced partial stomata closure of vegetation which led to a midday depression in CO2 uptake which did not recover during the afternoon. Thus, the cumulative net CO2 uptake was only 8 % of the net CO2 uptake during the same period in the previous year 2017. We suggest that partial stomata closure dampened Hg0 uptake by vegetation, resulting in a NEE of Hg0 dominated by soil re-emission. Finally, we give suggestions to further improve the precision and handling of the Eddy Mercury system in order to assure its suitability for long-term NEE measurements of Hg0 over natural background surfaces with low soil Hg concentrations (

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