Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean
The toxic metal mercury is present only at trace levels in the ocean, but it accumulates in fish at concentrations high enough to pose a threat to human and environmental health. Human activity has dramatically altered the global mercury cycle, resulting in loadings to the ocean that have increased...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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Oceanography Society
2014
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87594 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622 |
| _version_ | 1811072990609145856 |
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| author | Lamborg, Carl H. Bowman, Katilin Hammerschmidt, Chad Gilmour, Cindy Munson, Kathleen Tseng, Chun-Mao Selin, Noelle E |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Lamborg, Carl H. Bowman, Katilin Hammerschmidt, Chad Gilmour, Cindy Munson, Kathleen Tseng, Chun-Mao Selin, Noelle E |
| author_sort | Lamborg, Carl H. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | The toxic metal mercury is present only at trace levels in the ocean, but it accumulates in fish at concentrations high enough to pose a threat to human and environmental health. Human activity has dramatically altered the global mercury cycle, resulting in loadings to the ocean that have increased by at least a factor of three from pre-anthropogenic levels. Loadings are likely to continue to increase as a result of higher atmospheric emissions and other factors related to global environmental change. The impact that these loadings will have on the production of methylated mercury (the form that accumulates in fish) is unclear. In this article, we summarize the biogeochemistry of mercury in the ocean and use this information to examine past impacts that human activity has had on the cycling of this toxic metal. We also highlight ways in which the mercury cycle may continue to be affected and its potential impact on mercury in fish. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:26:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/87594 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:26:39Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Oceanography Society |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/875942024-05-15T02:20:33Z Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean Lamborg, Carl H. Bowman, Katilin Hammerschmidt, Chad Gilmour, Cindy Munson, Kathleen Tseng, Chun-Mao Selin, Noelle E Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Engineering Systems Division Selin, Noelle Eckley The toxic metal mercury is present only at trace levels in the ocean, but it accumulates in fish at concentrations high enough to pose a threat to human and environmental health. Human activity has dramatically altered the global mercury cycle, resulting in loadings to the ocean that have increased by at least a factor of three from pre-anthropogenic levels. Loadings are likely to continue to increase as a result of higher atmospheric emissions and other factors related to global environmental change. The impact that these loadings will have on the production of methylated mercury (the form that accumulates in fish) is unclear. In this article, we summarize the biogeochemistry of mercury in the ocean and use this information to examine past impacts that human activity has had on the cycling of this toxic metal. We also highlight ways in which the mercury cycle may continue to be affected and its potential impact on mercury in fish. National Science Foundation (U.S.). Chemical Oceanography Program 2014-05-30T18:34:22Z 2014-05-30T18:34:22Z 2014-03 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 10428275 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87594 Lamborg, Carl, Katilin Bowman, Chad Hammerschmidt, Cindy Gilmour, Kathleen Munson, Noelle Selin, and Chun-Mao Tseng. “Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean.” Oceanography 27, no. 1 (March 1, 2014): 76–87. © 2014 The Oceanography Society https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2014.11 Oceanography Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf Oceanography Society Oceanography Society |
| spellingShingle | Lamborg, Carl H. Bowman, Katilin Hammerschmidt, Chad Gilmour, Cindy Munson, Kathleen Tseng, Chun-Mao Selin, Noelle E Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean |
| title | Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean |
| title_full | Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean |
| title_fullStr | Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean |
| title_short | Mercury in the Anthropocene Ocean |
| title_sort | mercury in the anthropocene ocean |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/87594 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622 |
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