Abstract
The spatial distribution characteristics of airborbe mercury(Hg) were investigated used its concentration data from six measurement sites selected to represent:(1) three terminal sites with heavy traffic loads in urban area, (2) one urban residential site and (3) two mountainous sites in Korea. The measurement data obtained during September 1997 through May 1998 indicated that the mean concentration of Hg from different study sites were comparably high with the mean values spanning from 5-9ng./㎥. The concentration from all those sites were systmatically high compared to those of most background sites around world or to other Korean sites investigaed previously. When results of correlation analysis between Hg and relevant parameters were compared among different study sites. temperature was most frequently found out to be in strong correlation with Hg concentrations. Results of factor analysis also indicated that Hg concentrations could be affected simultaneously by th factors affecting such parameters as ozone, temperature, ozone, carbon monoxide, and PM. The findings of enhanced Hg levels from Ji-Ri Mountain relative to terminal site suggest that is distributions may be rather homogeneous not enough to clearly distinguish areal differences and the associated source signatures between urban and rural area. The existence of systmatically high concentrations from all investigated sites also indicate that the impact of its source processes should be quite ubiquitous, while highly variable in relatively long term scale.
