27.08.2012 | News

Successful Mercury Measurement Campaign at Mount Etna

An airport and the little town of Linguaglossa at the foot of the Sicilian volcano, Mount Etna, became a research base for Prof. Dr. Ralf Ebinghaus and Andreas Weigelt of the Institute of Coastal Research at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht. From 29th July to the 3rd August, this was the location for an international measuring campaign, carried out in the scope of the EU project, Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS). Measurements were taken of the mercury emissions from the 3,300 metre high Mount Etna. The background of the campaign: the significance of natural sources must be known in order to assess the potential for the reduction of man-made mercury emissions.

Prof. Dr. Ralf Ebinghaus in a group of international scientists in front of the vulcano Mount Etna

Prof. Dr. Ralf Ebinghaus with international scientists in front of the volcano Etna. Photo: HZG

Volcanoes are one of the natural sources of mercury emissions.
Together with scientists from Cambridge, Oxford and Rome, Ralf Ebinghaus, head of the Department of Environmental Chemistry at the Institute of Coastal Research, and Andreas Weigelt, carried out a large-scale measurement campaign to analyse the mercury content of gases emitted from the Etna volcano.
The scientists wish to utilise these results in order to assess how and by which routes the mercury emissions are spreading out globally.

Together with his Italian colleagues, Ralf Ebinghaus examined the mercury content of the air below the crater edge. Using an airplane, Andreas Weigelt measured how much mercury is emitted into the atmosphere with the volcano gases – the meteorologist and environmental chemist gave a report on this measurement campaign in an interview.

Interview with Andreas Weigelt

What was the scientific motivation for you behind this campaign?

Andreas Weigelt installs the measuring equipment

Andreas Weigelt installing the measuring instruments. Photo: HZG

We have been investigating mercury emissions caused by human activities in the Environmental Chemistry Department for a period of years now. For this purpose, we measure mercury content in the atmosphere, in water and in rainfall. Mercury is released, above all, during combustion processes in industrial plants or coal-fired power stations and enters into the environment.

In order to give sound recommendations for the reduction of anthropogenic mercury sources, we wish to clarify what proportion of total mercury emissions comes from volcanoes i.e. natural mercury sources.

What insights do the aircraft measurements at Mount Etna provide?

We are concerned with the question of how the transport of mercury takes place in the atmosphere. To find the answers, we are primarily investigating the lower troposphere – the so-called boundary layer, at a height of 1,000 metres. The mercury which is emitted into the air lingers predominantly in this boundary layer and is transported into the upper troposphere from there.

We equipped a small aircraft with measuring instruments for the campaign and were thus able to carry out mercury measurements at a height of between 400 and 4,000 metres for the first time since1996.

What effects does mercury have on coasts and seas?

Mercury accumulates in the food chain to a great extent. Commencing from microplankton, it is assimilated into fish and other organisms and from there is also taken up by human beings. There are increasing accumulations of mercury in Polar Regions, in particular, which are leading to health problems in both marine life and the human population there. For example, the Inuit primarily subsist on fish. In worst cases, mercury can cause serious damage to the brain and nervous system.

Which challenges arose during this campaign?

Our greatest challenge was to manoeuvre the aircraft in the streams of air rising from the volcano without putting ourselves into danger. The volcanic ash in the rising air is extremely damaging to aircraft engines. Therefore, the volcanic plume must not be flown through. We took our measurements in the invisible gaseous outer edges of the volcanic plume. We could locate these invisible outer edges with a sulphur dioxide measuring device.

What happens to the measurement data?

The results flow directly into a so-called atmospheric transport model. My colleague, Dr. Volker Matthias, works on these models. Using this new data he can, not only check, but also validate previous assumptions.

What is planned?

At the beginning of 2013 there will be a workshop in Hamburg with colleagues from Cambridge, East Anglia, Rome und Oxford. The analysis results will be presented immediately afterwards. As an extension of this year’s measurement campaign, we will be taking aerial measurements once again next year. However, the focus will then be on anthropogenic mercury sources.

Urban emissions such as those in the Ruhr area, for example, and also forest fire emissions, are of particular interest to us. We will be carrying out additional flights at Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland, in order to obtain information on mercury entry pollution in Western Europe.

The measurements of mercury in the air, taken at this location, are the longest time series at a coastal measuring station in temperate latitudes. Our measurements have been running there since 1995. However, we do not have any knowledge of vertical distribution in higher altitudes – an important input factor for the models.

The objective of the GMOS project is to build up an integrated global mercury observation network which will also be operated in the long term. Ralf Ebinghaus and Volker Matthias from the Department of Environmental Chemistry are leading the two GMOS work groups Regional Modelling and Airborne Measurements.

More Information

Department Environmental Chemistry EU-Project GMOS

Kontakt

Dr. Torsten Fischer

Head of Press Department

Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht

Phone: +49 (0) 4152 87-1677

E-mail contact

Max-Planck-Straße 1
21502 Geesthacht