Dataset: GN01 Ice Core Mercury
Deployment: HLY1502

Methodology: Details of the methods for the cruise are given in DiMento et al. (2019). Details of the overall method and approach for dissolved gaseous mercury and atmospheric mercury methods are given in Andersson et al. (2008), Mason et al. (2017), Soerensen et al. (2014), and Soerensen et al. (2013). Analytical methods are detailed in DiMento et al. (2019) with additional information in the papers listed above and in Munson et al. (2014), Morton et al. (2013), and Gichuki & Mason (2014). See "Related Publications" below for complete citations.

Sampling Procedures: Ice cores were sampled using a trace metal clean corer at five stations, with duplicate cores collected at two of the five locations. Ice stations were located between 88.4N on the northward leg and 82.5N on the southward leg of the cruise. Whole ice cores, collected with a trace metal clean corer, were returned to the Hg clean facility where colleagues on the ship subsampled them into sections. Once the cores were divided, the subsections were placed in Teflon collection containers and defrosted under laminar flow conditions, then decanted into Teflon bottles and refrozen. The collection containers were cleaned and re-used for the next ice core. Triplicate bulk snow samples were collected at the same sites as the ice cores. All samples were kept frozen at -20 degrees C in the dark, and were transported back to the University of Connecticut for analysis.

Methylmercury concentrations were determined following the ascorbic acid-assisted direct ethylation method (Munson et al., 2014) using a Tekran 2700 instrument and autosampler to automate the purging, trapping, and detection via cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectroscopy (CVAFS). Samples were thawed then acidified to 1% (v/v) H2SO4 and left to digest overnight before neutralizing with 8N potassium hydroxide (KOH), buffering with 4M acetate, adding 2.5% (w/v) ascorbic acid and finally 1% (w/v) sodium tetraethyl borate (NaTEB) to ethylate the methylmercury. Total mercury concentrations were determined by dual gold-amalgamation CVAFS utilizing a Tekran 2600 instrument in accordance with U.S. EPA Method 1631. Briefly, waters were digested with bromine monochloride (BrCl) followed by a pre-reduction step with hydroxylamine hydrochloride (NH₂OH·HCl). Inorganic Hg(II) was then reduced to Hg⁰ using stannous chloride (SnCl₂) prior to automated analysis on the Tekran.