Mercury is a toxic pollutant that poses health risks to humans and wildlife. India is the second-largest emitter of anthropogenic mercury to the atmosphere and a ratified Minimata convection member. Successful implementation of MC in the Indian region requires monitoring and modeling mercury concentration and deposition fluxes. The Indian climate, flora, fauna, and soil types are unique from those in other regions. Reliable estimates regarding the cycling of mercury emissions between the atmosphere and terrestrial surface are limited to the Indian region. To date, limited research has been undertaken on modeling and quantifying the sources and quantities of atmospheric Hg in India.

The present research aims to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of Mercury pollution over the Indian region and identify hotspots. GEOS-Chem, a biogeochemical Hg model is employed to study the atmospheric mercury concentrations and deposition over the Indian region. Sensitivity analysis will be carried out to study the source-specific contribution to mercury deposition. Coupled simulation of GEOS-Chem with a box model will be performed to study the fate and transport of mercury in rivers. This seminar will discuss mercury pollution deposition, its characteristics, and modeling.