Department of Environmental Science

What are the processes governing aerosols and mercury in the High Arctic? 

The Arctic is warming at twice the global rate and is increasingly being contaminated with anthropogenic pollution. Aerosols and mercury are two pollutants that can have a large impact on the climate and health of the High Arctic environment. Globally, aerosols have a cooling effect; however, the High Arctic climate is sensitive to small changes in total aerosol number concentration. Mercury is a long-lived toxin that can bio-accumulate in higher trophic levels. These two pollutants warrant further investigation due to their climate and health effects. The interactions between them is unclear in a changing climate.  

My research focuses on understanding the interactions between these two pollutants. We aim to investigate the deposition of reactive gaseous mercury (RGM), the equilibrium between RGM and particulate bound mercury (PHg), and mercury’s role in new particle formation at the High Arctic site Villum Research Station.

PhD Supervisors: Andreas Massling and Henrik Skov