Atmospheric transoformation of elemental mercury upon reactions with halogens

Rapid depletions of atmospheric mercury (Hg-0) and ozone have recently been observed in several regions of high- and sub-Arctic, as well as Antarctica. There are a large body of ground based and satellite observations implicating the reactions of halogens, during these depletion events. In our laboratory, we have performed extensive kinetic and product studies on the oxidation reactions of elemental mercury with atmospheric oxidants, along with complementary thermochemical studies based on our kinetics and product studies of reactions of gaseous Hg-0 with molecular and atomic halogens. In this study, we incorporated our laboratory data in a chemical box model (MOCCA). Our results on the potential importance of some key molecular and atomic halogen reactions in depletion of mercury within atmospheric boundary layer, will be discussed.