Mercury wet deposition is dependent on both the scavenging of divalent gaseous mercury (RGM) and atmospheric particulate mercury (Hg(p)) by precipitation. In this study, the contribution of Hg(p) scavenging to mercury wet deposition in Japan was estimated on the basis of the scavenging ratios of other trace elements (i.e., Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V) existing entirely in particulate form. Their wet deposition fluxes and atmospheric concentrations, which were measured concurrently from April 2004 to March 2005 at 10 sites, were used for this estimation. On average at 10 sites, the contribution of Hg(p) scavenging to the annual mercury deposition flux was 26%, suggesting that mercury wet deposition in Japan is dominated by RGM scavenging. This RGM should be originated mainly from the in situ oxidation of gaseous elemental mercury (Hg(0)) in the atmosphere.
