New research shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in
About ten percent of the global riverine export of this toxic substance to oceans originates from this region - with potentially significant impacts on Arctic organisms
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IMAGE: New research from Florida State University shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in industrial. view more
Credit: Photo courtesy of Jade Hatton/University of Bristol
New research from Florida State University shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in industrial China, an unexpected finding that is raising questions about the effects of glacial melting in an area that is a major exporter of seafood. There are surprisingly high levels of mercury in the glacier meltwaters we sampled in southwest Greenland, said FSU postdoctoral fellow Jon Hawkings. And that s leading us to look now at a whole host of other questions such as how that mercury could potentially get into the food chain.
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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. New research shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in industrial China, an unexpected finding that is raising questions about the effects of glacial melting in an area that is a major exporter of seafood. There are surprisingly high levels of mercury in the glacier meltwaters we sampled in southwest Greenland, said Jon Hawkings, a postdoctoral researcher at Florida State University and and the German Research Centre for Geosciences. And that s leading us to look now at a whole host of other questions such as how that mercury could potentially get into the food chain.
Florida State University News
Researchers find Greenland glacial meltwaters rich in mercury
May 24, 2021 | 11:00 am | SHARE:
An aerial view of Nuup Kangerlua (fjord) and the glaciers that feed meltwater into it. This fjord receives approximately 20 cubic kilometers of meltwater from the ice sheet every year (equivalent to 8 million Olympic sized swimming pools of water). Photo courtesy of Jade Hatton/University of Bristol.
New research shows that concentrations of the toxic element mercury in rivers and fjords connected to the Greenland Ice Sheet are comparable to rivers in industrial China, an unexpected finding that is raising questions about the effects of glacial melting in an area that is a major exporter of seafood.