Numerical Modeling of Regional Transport, Chemical Transformations and Deposition Fluxes of Airborne Mercury Species

This article reviews current knowledge of atmospheric mercury processes and describes activities in Europe and North America to simulate these processes by means of tropospheric chemistry/transport models for regional-scale applications. Advantages and limitations of relatively simple Lagrangian models are discussed within the context of issues currently facing the environmental scientific and policymaking communities. The current state and future direction of comprehensive Eulerian models in simulating the tropospheric chemistry and transport of mercury species is outlined. A number of central improvements in these models are discussed, with consideration of the key progress necessary to include feedbacks and interactions between formation and distribution of clouds and mercury atmospheric chemistry.