Mercury in the atmospheric air in the background areas of the Nordic countries, Central and Eastern Euroре

Abstract

The results of monitoring mercury concentrations in the
atmospheric air of the protected areas of the countries of Northern, Central Europe

and the European part of Russia in the period 2011-2015 and 2021 are considered.
It is shown that the current estimates and those obtained in the 1980s
 are
commensurate. The gaseous form of mercury still dominates the atmosphere. The
contribution of the aerosol component does not exceed 0.6% of the total content of
the element. According to the data obtained in the Arctic regions, the current level
of the global background of mercury in the atmosphere of the northern hemisphere
is 1.5-1.7 ng/m3
. In the countries of Northern and Central Europe, as well as in the
west and east of the East European Plain, regional concentrations are comparable to
estimates of the global background, stable over time, and homogeneous in
geographical space. In the central part of the East European Plain, the average
concentrations are almost 2 times higher than the global background, which, as the
analysis showed, is due to the influence of the Moscow metropolis. In general,
background concentrations of mercury in the atmosphere of the studied regions of
Europe are extremely low, averaging no more than 1.2% of the MPC norm adopted
in Russia, and are formed mainly by natural sources of mercury emissions into the
atmosphere.