Speciated Mercury

Ambient concentrations of speciated mercury (Hg) have been measured at many locations across Canada. Mercury in the atmosphere is measured in three operationally-defined forms - gaseous elemental mercury (GEM), reactive gaseous mercury (RGM), and particulate-bound mercury (PBM). Under most conditions, GEM (or Hg0) is the predominant species in the air (~95-99%), while RGM and PBM concentrations are typically two orders of magnitude lower, i.e., <5% of the total atmospheric mercury concentration. Reactive gaseous mercury is thought to consist of compounds such as HgCl2, HgBr2, Hg(OH)2 although the exact composition is unknown. Mercury speciation measurements were initiated in 2002 at two locations, Alert, Nunavut and Flin Flon, Manitoba.

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated April 17, 2026, 19:43 (UTC)
Created April 17, 2026, 19:43 (UTC)
contact_person {}
criticality_level []
data_dictionary []
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open_canada_collection primary
open_canada_date_published 2002-01-01 00:00:00
open_canada_keywords {"fr": ["Air", "qualité de l’air", "surveillance atmosphérique", "gaz atmosphériques", "particules atmosphériques", "combinaison des gaz et desparticules atmosphériques", "réseaux et études", "NAtChem", "mercure différencié", "Hg", "mercure élémentaire gazeux", "MEG", "mercure gazeuxréactif", "MGR", "mercure lié à des particules.", "PBM", "Alert", "Flin Flon", "SMM", "Environnement", "Atmosphère"], "en": ["Air", "Air Quality", "Atmospheric Monitoring", "NAtChem", "Atmospheric Gases and Particles", "Networks and Studies", "SMM", "Speciated Mercury", "Hg", "gaseous elemental mercury", "GEM", "reactive gaseous mercury", "RGM", "and particulate-bound mercury", "Environment", "Atmosphere"]}
open_canada_subject ["nature_and_environment"]
sensitivity_level unrestricted
title_fr Mercure différencié
update_frequency as_needed