Enhancing Atmospheric Mercury Research in China to Improve the Current Understanding of the Global Mercury Cycle: The Need for Urgent and Closely Coordinated Efforts

In summary, Hg is considered as a global pollutant because of its long-range cycling and persistence in the environment. For effectively addressing this global environmental issue, it is widely accepted that expanded and integrated science and policy efforts across local, regional and global scales are needed. Hg emission, transformation, and fate in Chinese environment are a critical part of the global Hg cycle. Owing to the rapid industrial development, anthropogenic Hg emissions in China may increase in the next few decades unless some drastic and effective measures are taken. In the context of the decreasing Hg emission from developed regions, China's role in the global Hg cycle is increasingly important. However the lack of high quality data in China leads to large uncertainties of current understanding of the global Hg issue and further affects the accuracy of global Hg assessment. This strongly impacts the subsequent development of an international Hg treaty. Enhancing the study of Hg in China, particularly the atmospheric process, not only helps China cope with the environmental challenge of this toxin but also reduces uncertainties of the understanding of global Hg cycle and further facilitates global Hg regulation. Although the Hg issue in China is attracting widespread attention and more research programs have focused on this issue, factors influencing the behavior, fate, and trend of Hg in Chinese environment are multitudinous and intertwined. Therefore, for more effectively and deeper understanding the Hg cycle in China, we need close coordinated efforts across field scientists, industrial departments, modelers, policy-makers, and other stakeholders from both domestic and international communities. © 2012 American Chemical Society.