Observations of Mercury-Containing Aerosols

In situ analyses with a laser ionization mass spectrometer have shown that a large fraction of aerosols in the bottom few kilometers of the stratosphere contain small amounts of mercury (1). Electron microscopy of particles collected near the tropopause has also detected mercury. The distribution of mercury onto many particles, including those less than 20 nm in diameter, indicates that the mercury is from local condensation of mercury compounds onto particles rather than transport of mercury-rich aerosols from surface sources. Although the results are only semiquantitative, they suggest that most of the mercury in the lower stratosphere is converted into the particulate phase. Mercury-containing particles were present at both middle latitudes and the tropics in two seasons. There is therefore good reason to believe that particulate mercury above the tropopause is global and could affect the atmospheric lifetime of mercury. There are indications that bromine and/or iodine may be involved in the conversion of mercury from the gas to particle phase. Measurements at altitudes below 5 km did not find mercury in any particles despite sampling some particles that clearly originated in the stratosphere. This indicates that the particulate mercury from the lower stratosphere may be volatile enough to evaporate or decompose once particles reach warmer temperatures.