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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Mar 28, 2026

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium

Published on: December 17, 2018

Observed decrease in atmospheric mercury explained by global decline in anthropogenic emissions.

Yanxu Zhang¹, Daniel J Jacob², Hannah M Horowitz³

¹John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138; yxzhang@seas.harvard.edu.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

|January 6, 2016

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Global mercury (Hg) emissions decreased significantly from 1990-2010 due to improved inventories. These findings explain observed atmospheric mercury reductions, particularly in North America and Europe.

Keywords:

atmosphere emission mercury trend

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Area of Science:

Environmental Chemistry
Atmospheric Science
Global Biogeochemical Cycles

Background:

Observed atmospheric mercury (Hg(0)) concentrations show significant decreases in North America and Europe, and weaker decreases in background Northern Hemisphere air.
These observed trends contradict existing global emission inventories, which suggest flat or increasing mercury emissions from 1990 to present.

Purpose of the Study:

To reconcile discrepancies between observed atmospheric mercury trends and emission inventories.
To develop an improved global mercury emission inventory from 1990 to 2010.
To simulate atmospheric mercury concentrations and deposition using the improved inventory.

Main Methods:

Constructed an improved global mercury emission inventory by accounting for declining mercury in commercial products, revised artisanal gold mining emissions, and speciation changes from coal-fired utilities.
Utilized the GEOS-Chem (Goddard Earth Observing System-Chemistry) global 3D atmospheric mercury simulation model.
Coupled the atmospheric model with land and ocean reservoirs to simulate mercury fate and transport.

Main Results:

The improved inventory revealed a 20% decrease in total mercury emissions and a 30% decrease in anthropogenic Hg(0) emissions between 1990 and 2010.
Larger emission reductions in North America and Europe offset increasing emissions in Asia.
The GEOS-Chem model successfully reproduced observed large-scale trends in atmospheric Hg(0) concentrations and Hg(II) wet deposition.

Conclusions:

Observed atmospheric mercury decreases are explained by an improved understanding of emission sources and trends.
The phase-out of mercury from commercial products and co-benefits from SO2 and NOx emission controls on coal-fired utilities significantly contributed to mercury reductions in North America and Europe.