Role of ambient aerosol characteristics in the speciation of atmospheric mercury

A parameterized model of the ambient population is linked to a gas phase diffusion and an aqueous chemistry model to describe the interaction between gas phase mercury and the ambient aerosol. The model defines the aerosol population in terms of four general source categories, desert, marine, continental and urban, and divides each category into typically three characteristic diameters and four possible soluble fraction classes. Associated with each source, diameter and soluble fraction subclass are a number of parameters required for the rest of the model.