Multiscale Temporal Variations of Atmospheric Mercury Distinguished by the Hilbert-Huang Transform Analysis Reveals Multiple El Nino-Southern Oscillation Links

Atmospheric mercury (Hg) cycling is sensitive to climate-driven changes, but links with various teleconnections remain unestablished. Here, we revealed the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) influence on gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) concentrations recorded at a background station in East Asia using the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT). The timing and magnitude of GEM intrinsic variations were clearly distinguished by ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), revealing the amplitude of the GEM concentration interannual variability (IAV) is greater than that for diurnal and seasonal variability. We show that changes in the annual cycle of GEM were modulated by significant IAVs at time scales of 2-7 years, highlighted by a robust GEM IAV-ENSO relationship of the associated intrinsic mode functions. With confirmation that ENSO modulates the GEM annual cycle, we then found that weaker GEM annual cycles may have resulted from El Nino-accelerated Hg evasion from the ocean. Furthermore, the relationship between ENSO and GEM is sensitive to extreme events (i.e., 2015-2016 El Nino), resulting in perturbation of the long-term trend and atmospheric Hg cycling. Future climate change will likely increase the number of extreme El Nino events and, hence, could alter atmospheric Hg cycling and influence the effectiveness evaluation of the Minamata Convention on Mercury.

Automated summary

The study revealed the influence of El Nino-Southern Oscillation on gaseous elemental mercury concentrations in East Asia, especially in terms of the interannual variability of GEM concentrations. El Nino may result in weaker GEM annual cycles, increasing the instability of atmospheric mercury cycling.