ACP Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ACP 1680-7324 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acp-12-9417-2012 Spatial and temporal distributions of total and methyl mercury in precipitation in core urban areas, Chongqing, China Wang Y. M. 1 Wang D. Y. 1 2 Meng B. 3 Peng Y. L. 1 Zhao L. 1 Zhu J. S. 1 Key Laboratory of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region's Eco-Environment (Ministry of Education), College of Resources and Environment, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China Chongqing Key Laboratory of Agricultural Resources and Environment, Chongqing 400716, China State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guiyang 550002, China 18 10 2012 12 20 9417 9426 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/9417/2012/acp-12-9417-2012.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/9417/2012/acp-12-9417-2012.pdf

The spatial and temporal distribution patterns of mercury (Hg) in precipitation were investigated in the core urban areas of Chongqing, China. During the period from July 2010 to June 2011, total mercury (THg) and methyl mercury (MeHg) concentrations in precipitation were analysed from three sampling sites. Our results suggested that the volume-weight mean THg and MeHg concentrations in precipitation were 30.67 ng l<sup>−1</sup> and 0.31 ng l<sup>−1</sup>, respectively. The proportion of MeHg in THg ranged from 0.1% to 7.6% with a mean value of 1.3%. THg and MeHg concentrations showed seasonal variations, while the highest THg value was measured in winter. Contrarily, the highest MeHg concentration was observed in autumn. Additionally, a geographically gradual decline of THg concentration in precipitation was observed from the downtown to the suburb, then to the controlled site in the city. 5 mm rainfall might be a threshold for the full wash-out capability. Rainfall above 5 mm may have a diluting effect for the concentrations of THg. Moreover, the current research implies that the coal combustion and motor vehicles could be the dominant sources for Hg in the precipitation.

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