Collaborative Research: Refining and Testing Methods for Identifying and Quantifying Gaseous Oxidized Mercury in Air

本项目旨在改进大气中气态氧化汞（GOM）的测量方法。将继续开发一种简单的校准系统，用于GOM的被动采样，然后进行热解吸。质谱分析将用于鉴定环境中特定的GOM化合物。将测试各种收集和预浓缩材料和配置。将建立一个现成的氧化汞化合物校准器，允许Tekran和其他测量系统对GOM测量进行常规验证。气态氧化汞化合物很容易转化为甲基汞，甲基汞是对人类和生态系统健康最关注的汞形式。这些化合物也令人担忧，因为它们可以被生态系统有效地吸收。这个项目将提高我们对环境中汞的化学和命运的理解。

This project is focused on improving the measurement methods for gaseous oxidized mercury (GOM) in the atmosphere. Development will continue on a simple, calibrated system for passive sampling of GOM followed by thermal desorption. Mass spectrometric analysis will be used to identify specific GOM compounds in the environment. A variety of collection and pre-concentration materials and configurations will be tested. A field-ready calibrator for oxidized mercury compounds will be built that will allow for routine verification of GOM measurements by Tekran and other measurement systems. Gaseous oxidized mercury compounds are easily converted to methyl mercury, the form of mercury that is of most concern for human and ecosystem health. These compounds are also of concern because they can become efficiently taken up by ecosystems. This project will improve our understanding of the chemistry and fate of mercury in the environment.