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DOI	10.1088/1748-9326/ab4b75
	Are mercury emissions from satellite electric propulsion an environmental concern?
	Fourie D.; Hedgecock I.M.; De Simone F.; Sunderland E.M.; Pirrone N.
发表日期	2019
ISSN	17489318
卷号	14 期号:12
英文摘要	A new generation of satellites for Earth observation and telecommunications are being designed and built with off the shelf components. This is driving down costs and permitting the launch of large satellite swarms with unprecedented spatial and temporal coverage. On-orbit maneuvers are commonly performed using ion thrusters. Mercury is one of the cheapest and easiest to store propellants for electric propulsion. While some mercury released in Low Earth Orbit may escape Earth's gravitational field, mercury emissions originating from many common orbital maneuvers will return to Earth. The environmental and human health implications of such releases have not been evaluated. Using an atmospheric chemical transport model, we simulate global deposition of mercury released from satellite propulsion systems. We estimate that 75% of the mercury falling back to Earth will be deposited in the world's oceans, with potentially negative implications for commercial fish and other marine life. Understanding the scale of this novel mercury source in a post-Minamata Convention world is necessary to limit ecosystem exposure to mercury contamination. © 2019 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd.
英文关键词	atmospheric deposition; ecosystems; mercury pollution; new anthropogenic mercury source; satellite propulsion systems
语种	英语
scopus关键词	Atmospheric chemistry; Deposition; Ecosystems; Electric propulsion; Meteorological problems; Satellites; Spacecraft propulsion; Anthropogenic mercury; Atmospheric depositions; Chemical transport models; Earth's gravitational field; Environmental concerns; Mercury pollution; Off-the-shelf components; Satellite propulsion systems; Orbits; anthropogenic effect; atmospheric deposition; atmospheric transport; commercial species; emission; environmental conditions; global ocean; gravity field; mercury (element); pollutant source; pollution effect; satellite altimetry; telecommunication
来源期刊	Environmental Research Letters
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/154309
作者单位	Independent Researcher, Berkeley, CA, United States; CNR-Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, Rende, I-87036, Italy; Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Fourie D.,Hedgecock I.M.,De Simone F.,et al. Are mercury emissions from satellite electric propulsion an environmental concern?[J],2019,14(12).
APA	Fourie D.,Hedgecock I.M.,De Simone F.,Sunderland E.M.,&Pirrone N..(2019).Are mercury emissions from satellite electric propulsion an environmental concern?.Environmental Research Letters,14(12).
MLA	Fourie D.,et al."Are mercury emissions from satellite electric propulsion an environmental concern?".Environmental Research Letters 14.12(2019).