Quantification of Total Mercury in Antarctic Surface Snow using ICP-SF-MS: Spatial Variation from the Coast to Dome Fuji

The total mercury concentration (Hg-T) of surface snow samples collected along a similar to 1500 km transect in east Queen Maud Land was determined using inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry to address the behavior of Hg on the Antarctic Plateau. Due to the volatile nature of mercury, measures were taken against Hg loss from standard solutions by choosing appropriate container material and stabilizing agents. Glass bottles with Teflon-lined caps were superior to Teflon and polyethylene containers in protecting against Hg loss, but addition of gold chloride (AuCl3) or bromine chloride (BrCl) was necessary to ensure preservation of Hg. As Hg loss was also observed in snowmelt samples, our analysis may underestimate the actual amount of Hg-T in the snow. Even so, the measured Hg-T was still very low (< 0.4-10.8 pg g(-1) n = 44) without a signal of depositional enhancement accompanying photo-oxidation of atmospheric elemental mercury in austral midsummer. Moreover, the dynamic variation along the traverse implies spatial and temporal heterogeneity in its source processes.