Follow RT on Scientists have discovered record amounts of mercury accumulated in deep Pacific trenches, with marine sediments there showing several times worse contamination than in other parts of the world’s oceans.
The unprecedented levels of mercury pollution found in the most desolate place in the Pacific Ocean have been brought to light this week via a new scientific study in Nature Publishing’s Scientific Reports Journal.
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The study sums up the findings of a multinational team that brought together scientists from Canada, Denmark, Germany, and Japan. The research is based on the first-ever direct measurements of mercury residue conducted at depths of up to six miles (10 kilometers) below the surface of the Pacific.
International study finds unprecedented amounts of mercury in Pacific Ocean
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International study finds unprecedented amounts of mercury in Pacific Ocean
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TORONTO An international team of scientists have discovered unprecedented amounts of highly toxic mercury in Pacific Ocean trenches that exceed any prior record, and are higher than many areas that are directly contaminated by industrial waste. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports on Wednesday, was a multi-national effort with scientists from Canada, Denmark, Germany and Japan. Researchers recorded the first-ever direct measurements of mercury deposits up to 10 kilometres below the surface of the Pacific. Ocean sediments are the largest repository or sink for mercury, the study states, but measurements have never been taken from greater than six kilometres below. The team took samples from the Atacama Trench, off the coast of Peru and Chile, and Kermadec Trench off the coast of New Zealand.
The new underwater vehicle, called Orpheus, relies on autonomous navigation software developed by NASA s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in California for the Mars Perseverance rover and the Ingenuity helicopter. The primary task for the mini-submarine, which was built by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, will be to advance humanity s understanding of the deepest regions of the oceans, the so-called hadal zone.
With trenches and troughs as deep as 20,000 to 36,000 feet (6,000 to 11,000 meters), the hadal zone presents similar challenges to those experienced by exploration vehicles on other planets, Russel Smith, a roboticist at JPL, said during an online news conference on May 5.