Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives
Mercury (Hg) and especially its methylated species (MeHg) are toxic chemicals that contaminate humans via the consumption of seafood. The most recent UNEP Global Mercury Assessment stressed that Mediterranean populations have higher Hg levels than people elsewhere in Europe. The present Critical Rev...
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Online Access: | https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/92105.pdf https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/ |
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ftarchimer:oai:archimer.ifremer.fr:86597 2023-05-15T17:36:04+02:00 Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives Cossa, Daniel Knoery, Joel Bănaru, Daniela Harmelin-vivien, Mireille Sonke, Jeroen E. Hedgecock, Ian M. Bravo, Andrea G. Rosati, Ginevra Canu, Donata Horvat, Milena Sprovieri, Francesca Pirrone, Nicola Heimbürger-boavida, Lars-eric 2022-04 application/pdf https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/92105.pdf https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/ eng eng American Chemical Society (ACS) info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/689443/EU//ERA-PLANET https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/92105.pdf doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/ info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use Environmental Science & Technology (0013-936X) (American Chemical Society (ACS)), 2022-04 , Vol. 56 , N. 7 , P. 3840-3862 Mediterranean Mercury Hg MeHg Earth System Models text Publication info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2022 ftarchimer https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 2023-03-07T23:53:26Z Mercury (Hg) and especially its methylated species (MeHg) are toxic chemicals that contaminate humans via the consumption of seafood. The most recent UNEP Global Mercury Assessment stressed that Mediterranean populations have higher Hg levels than people elsewhere in Europe. The present Critical Review updates current knowledge on the sources, biogeochemical cycling, and mass balance of Hg in the Mediterranean and identifies perspectives for future research especially in the context of global change. Concentrations of Hg in the Western Mediterranean average 0.86 ± 0.27 pmol L–1 in the upper water layer and 1.02 ± 0.12 pmol L–1 in intermediate and deep waters. In the Eastern Mediterranean, Hg measurements are in the same range but are too few to determine any consistent oceanographical pattern. The Mediterranean waters have a high methylation capacity, with MeHg representing up to 86% of the total Hg, and constitute a source of MeHg for the adjacent North Atlantic Ocean. The highest MeHg concentrations are associated with low oxygen water masses, suggesting a microbiological control on Hg methylation, consistent with the identification of hgcA-like genes in Mediterranean waters. MeHg concentrations are twice as high in the waters of the Western Basin compared to the ultra-oligotrophic Eastern Basin waters. This difference appears to be transferred through the food webs and the Hg content in predators to be ultimately controlled by MeHg concentrations of the waters of their foraging zones. Many Mediterranean top-predatory fish still exceed European Union regulatory Hg thresholds. This emphasizes the necessity of monitoring the exposure of Mediterranean populations, to formulate adequate mitigation strategies and recommendations, without advising against seafood consumption. This review also points out other insufficiencies of knowledge of Hg cycling in the Mediterranean Sea, including temporal variations in air–sea exchange, hydrothermal and cold seep inputs, point sources, submarine groundwater discharge, and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) Western Basin Environmental Science & Technology 56 7 3840 3862 |
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Open Polar |
collection |
Archimer (Archive Institutionnelle de l'Ifremer - Institut français de recherche pour l'exploitation de la mer) |
op_collection_id |
ftarchimer |
language |
English |
topic |
Mediterranean Mercury Hg MeHg Earth System Models |
spellingShingle |
Mediterranean Mercury Hg MeHg Earth System Models Cossa, Daniel Knoery, Joel Bănaru, Daniela Harmelin-vivien, Mireille Sonke, Jeroen E. Hedgecock, Ian M. Bravo, Andrea G. Rosati, Ginevra Canu, Donata Horvat, Milena Sprovieri, Francesca Pirrone, Nicola Heimbürger-boavida, Lars-eric Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives |
topic_facet |
Mediterranean Mercury Hg MeHg Earth System Models |
description |
Mercury (Hg) and especially its methylated species (MeHg) are toxic chemicals that contaminate humans via the consumption of seafood. The most recent UNEP Global Mercury Assessment stressed that Mediterranean populations have higher Hg levels than people elsewhere in Europe. The present Critical Review updates current knowledge on the sources, biogeochemical cycling, and mass balance of Hg in the Mediterranean and identifies perspectives for future research especially in the context of global change. Concentrations of Hg in the Western Mediterranean average 0.86 ± 0.27 pmol L–1 in the upper water layer and 1.02 ± 0.12 pmol L–1 in intermediate and deep waters. In the Eastern Mediterranean, Hg measurements are in the same range but are too few to determine any consistent oceanographical pattern. The Mediterranean waters have a high methylation capacity, with MeHg representing up to 86% of the total Hg, and constitute a source of MeHg for the adjacent North Atlantic Ocean. The highest MeHg concentrations are associated with low oxygen water masses, suggesting a microbiological control on Hg methylation, consistent with the identification of hgcA-like genes in Mediterranean waters. MeHg concentrations are twice as high in the waters of the Western Basin compared to the ultra-oligotrophic Eastern Basin waters. This difference appears to be transferred through the food webs and the Hg content in predators to be ultimately controlled by MeHg concentrations of the waters of their foraging zones. Many Mediterranean top-predatory fish still exceed European Union regulatory Hg thresholds. This emphasizes the necessity of monitoring the exposure of Mediterranean populations, to formulate adequate mitigation strategies and recommendations, without advising against seafood consumption. This review also points out other insufficiencies of knowledge of Hg cycling in the Mediterranean Sea, including temporal variations in air–sea exchange, hydrothermal and cold seep inputs, point sources, submarine groundwater discharge, and ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Cossa, Daniel Knoery, Joel Bănaru, Daniela Harmelin-vivien, Mireille Sonke, Jeroen E. Hedgecock, Ian M. Bravo, Andrea G. Rosati, Ginevra Canu, Donata Horvat, Milena Sprovieri, Francesca Pirrone, Nicola Heimbürger-boavida, Lars-eric |
author_facet |
Cossa, Daniel Knoery, Joel Bănaru, Daniela Harmelin-vivien, Mireille Sonke, Jeroen E. Hedgecock, Ian M. Bravo, Andrea G. Rosati, Ginevra Canu, Donata Horvat, Milena Sprovieri, Francesca Pirrone, Nicola Heimbürger-boavida, Lars-eric |
author_sort |
Cossa, Daniel |
title |
Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives |
title_short |
Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives |
title_full |
Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives |
title_fullStr |
Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mediterranean Mercury Assessment 2022: An Updated Budget, Health Consequences, and Research Perspectives |
title_sort |
mediterranean mercury assessment 2022: an updated budget, health consequences, and research perspectives |
publisher |
American Chemical Society (ACS) |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/92105.pdf https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/ |
geographic |
Western Basin |
geographic_facet |
Western Basin |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Environmental Science & Technology (0013-936X) (American Chemical Society (ACS)), 2022-04 , Vol. 56 , N. 7 , P. 3840-3862 |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/EC/H2020/689443/EU//ERA-PLANET https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/92105.pdf doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 https://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00754/86597/ |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess restricted use |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c03044 |
container_title |
Environmental Science & Technology |
container_volume |
56 |
container_issue |
7 |
container_start_page |
3840 |
op_container_end_page |
3862 |
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1766135421306142720 |