Fig. 6: Integrated modeling of Arctic mercury cycling across air, land, sea ice, and ocean. | Nature Communications

Fig. 6: Integrated modeling of Arctic mercury cycling across air, land, sea ice, and ocean.

From: Oceanic evasion fuels Arctic summertime rebound of atmospheric mercury and drives transport to Arctic terrestrial ecosystems

Fig. 6

This schematic illustrates the coupled modeling framework used to simulate Arctic mercury (Hg) cycling, incorporating the atmospheric Goddard Earth Observing System-Chemistry (GEOS-Chem) transport model, the terrestrial Global Terrestrial Mercury Model (GTMM), and the oceanic Massachusetts Institute of Technology General Circulation Model (MITgcm) with its embedded sea ice module. The fully coupled system quantifies the contributions of four Hg sources—oceanic reservoirs (42%), anthropogenic emissions (34%), land emissions (16%), and natural reservoirs (8%)—to the Arctic summer rebound of atmospheric Hg0. The model reveals that this summer rebound enhances dry deposition across the pan-Arctic region, with prominent accumulation in the Arctic tundra. This framework provides a comprehensive understanding of summertime Hg dynamics and deposition in the Arctic system.

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