A comparison of winter mercury accumulation at forested and no-canopy sites measured with different snow sampling techniques

Atmospheric mercury (Hg) is delivered to ecosystems via rain, snow, cloud/fog, and dry deposition. The importance of snow, especially snow that has passed through the forest canopy (throughfall), in delivering Hg to terrestrial ecosystems has received little attention in the literature. The snowpack is a dynamic system that links atmospheric deposition and ecosystem cycling through deposition and emission of deposited Hg. To examine the magnitude of Hg delivery via snowfall, and to illuminate processes affecting Hg flux to catchments during winter (cold season), Hg in snow in no-canopy areas and under forest canopies measured with four collection methods were compared: (1) Hg in wet precipitation as measured by the Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) for the site in Acadia National Park, Maine, USA, (2) event throughfall (collected after snowfall cessation for accumulations of >8 cm), (3) season-long throughfall collected using the same apparatus for event sampling but deployed for the entire cold season, and (4) snowpack sampling. Estimates (mean ± SE) of Hg deposition using these methods during the 91-day cold season in 2004–2005 at conifer sites showed that season-long throughfall Hg flux (1.80 μg/m²)