GMOS-Fr
Atmospheric Mercury Data Repository in France
The GMOS-FR Data Portal provides access to long-term atmospheric mercury observations from remote and under-sampled regions of the world.
Since the adoption of the UNEP Minamata Convention in 2013, governments worldwide have committed to reducing mercury (Hg) emissions and releases. Assessing the effectiveness of these actions requires reliable scientific evidence, including sustained
Mercury biogeochemistry is complex. Anthropogenic emissions are superimposed on a naturally dynamic Hg cycle involving atmospheric transport, chemical transformations, deposition, re-emission, and methylation processes that produce monomethylmercury, the highly bioaccumulative form to which humans are mainly exposed through fish consumption.
Atmospheric observations are therefore essential for linking emission reductions to ecosystem exposure and, ultimately, to human exposure. They also provide critical constraints for global mercury models, which are increasingly used to understand Hg cycling and to assess the effectiveness of emission reduction policies.
GMOS-FR contributes to this effort by providing high-quality atmospheric mercury datasets from strategically located monitoring sites, including several stations in the Southern Hemisphere where long-term observations remain scarce. These datasets support process studies, model evaluation, trend analyses, and international assessments related to the Minamata Convention.
GMOS-FR provides atmospheric mercury measurements from the following sites:
- Amsterdam Island, southern Indian Ocean (TAAF, France) since 2012
- Concordia station, central Antarctica (Franco-Italian station in collab with CNR), 2012-2021
- Dumont d’Urville, Antarctica (TAAF, France), 2012-2015
- Chacaltaya high-altitude station, Bolivia, 2014-2016
- Maïdo Observatory, La Réunion Island, 2017-2018
- Pic du Midi Observatory, 2011-2014
These observations contribute to the GEO-GOS4M Global Observation System for Mercury and provide reference datasets for the international mercury research community.Sustained atmospheric observations are therefore essential.
GMOS-FR originated from the European FP7 Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS) project. Today, the network is supported by a combination of international, national, and regional research programmes, including the GMOstral-1028 programme of the French Polar Institute (IPEV), H2020 ERA-PLANET, INSU/CNRS LEFE, and LabEx OSUG.