Trade-Induced Atmospheric Mercury Deposition and Outflow over China
Abstract
Mercury (Hg) is characterized by the ability to migrate between continents and adverse effects on human health, arousing great concerns around the world. In addition to long-range atmospheric transport, Hg emissions can be geographically relocated through economic trade. Moreover, the transboundary transport of large anthropogenic Hg emissions from China has attracted particular attention, especially from neighboring countries. Here, we investigate the effect of China's interregional trade on atmospheric Hg deposition over China, using an atmospheric transport model and multiregional input-output analysis. And we also simulate the atmospheric Hg outflow from China and investigate the impacts of Chinese interprovincial trade on the outflow. In general, total atmospheric Hg deposition over China is 408.8 Mg yr-1, and 32% of this is embodied in China's interregional trade, with the hotspots occurring over Gansu, Henan, Hebei, and Yunnan provinces. Interprovincial trade considerably redistributes atmospheric Hg deposition over China, with a range in deposition flux from -104% to +28%. Developed regions, such as the Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang) and Guangdong, avoid Hg deposition over their geographical boundaries, instead causing additional Hg deposition over developing provinces. Transferring advanced technology from developed regions to their developing trade partners would be an effective measure to mitigate China's Hg pollution. The results also show outflows of 423.0 Mg of anthropogenic Hg, consisting of 65.9% of the total Chinese anthropogenic emissions, from China in 2010. Chinese interprovincial trade promotes a net decrease in the atmospheric outflow from China, reducing the chance of risks to foreign countries derived from transboundary Hg pollution from China. Our findings are relevant to interprovincial efforts to reduce trans-boundary Hg pollution in China.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.A33I3276C
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0322 Constituent sources and sinks;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0345 Pollution: urban and regional;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0368 Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE