A Three-Dimensional Model Assessment Of The Global Distribution Of Hexachlorobenzene
On this page:
The distributions of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the global environment have been studied typically with box/fugacity models with simplified treatments of atmospheric transport processes1. Such models are incapable of simulating the complex three-dimensional mechanisms responsible for long-range transport, such as penetrating convection, tropospheric jets, and synoptic weather systems2,3,4. These mechanisms can distribute POPs much more rapidly around the globe than slow winds confined to the surface moreover, many POPs react with atmospheric hydroxyl radical (OH), the distribution of which varies significantly with space and time. Three-dimensional models of the global atmosphere have long been available for studying the distributions of highly volatile tracers, yet their use in POPs exposure assessment has been rare. The purpose of this study is to examine the global distribution of hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a typical volatile POP, with an advanced 3-D radiative-dynamical-chemical model to examine the relative roles of different physical and chemical processes in determining its distribution.