Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost
Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that bonds with organic matter and, when converted to methylmercury, is a potent neurotoxicant. Here we estimate potential future releases of Hg from thawing permafrost for low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios using a mechanistic model. By 220...
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ftosti:oai:osti.gov:1760605 2023-07-30T04:06:16+02:00 Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost Schaefer, Kevin Elshorbany, Yasin Jafarov, Elchin Schuster, Paul F. Striegl, Robert G. Wickland, Kimberly P. Sunderland, Elsie M. 2021-01-25 application/pdf http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1760605 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1760605 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 unknown http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1760605 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1760605 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES 2021 ftosti https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 2023-07-11T10:00:48Z Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that bonds with organic matter and, when converted to methylmercury, is a potent neurotoxicant. Here we estimate potential future releases of Hg from thawing permafrost for low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios using a mechanistic model. By 2200, the high emissions scenario shows annual permafrost Hg emissions to the atmosphere comparable to current global anthropogenic emissions. By 2100, simulated Hg concentrations in the Yukon River increase by 14% for the low emissions scenario, but double for the high emissions scenario. Fish Hg concentrations do not exceed United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for the low emissions scenario by 2300, but for the high emissions scenario, fish in the Yukon River exceed EPA guidelines by 2050. Our results indicate minimal impacts to Hg concentrations in water and fish for the low emissions scenario and high impacts for the high emissions scenario. Other/Unknown Material permafrost Yukon river Yukon SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) Yukon Nature Communications 11 1 |
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SciTec Connect (Office of Scientific and Technical Information - OSTI, U.S. Department of Energy) |
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
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54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES Schaefer, Kevin Elshorbany, Yasin Jafarov, Elchin Schuster, Paul F. Striegl, Robert G. Wickland, Kimberly P. Sunderland, Elsie M. Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
topic_facet |
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES |
description |
Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element that bonds with organic matter and, when converted to methylmercury, is a potent neurotoxicant. Here we estimate potential future releases of Hg from thawing permafrost for low and high greenhouse gas emissions scenarios using a mechanistic model. By 2200, the high emissions scenario shows annual permafrost Hg emissions to the atmosphere comparable to current global anthropogenic emissions. By 2100, simulated Hg concentrations in the Yukon River increase by 14% for the low emissions scenario, but double for the high emissions scenario. Fish Hg concentrations do not exceed United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines for the low emissions scenario by 2300, but for the high emissions scenario, fish in the Yukon River exceed EPA guidelines by 2050. Our results indicate minimal impacts to Hg concentrations in water and fish for the low emissions scenario and high impacts for the high emissions scenario. |
author |
Schaefer, Kevin Elshorbany, Yasin Jafarov, Elchin Schuster, Paul F. Striegl, Robert G. Wickland, Kimberly P. Sunderland, Elsie M. |
author_facet |
Schaefer, Kevin Elshorbany, Yasin Jafarov, Elchin Schuster, Paul F. Striegl, Robert G. Wickland, Kimberly P. Sunderland, Elsie M. |
author_sort |
Schaefer, Kevin |
title |
Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
title_short |
Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
title_full |
Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
title_fullStr |
Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
title_full_unstemmed |
Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
title_sort |
potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1760605 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1760605 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 |
geographic |
Yukon |
geographic_facet |
Yukon |
genre |
permafrost Yukon river Yukon |
genre_facet |
permafrost Yukon river Yukon |
op_relation |
http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1760605 https://www.osti.gov/biblio/1760605 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 doi:10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-18398-5 |
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Nature Communications |
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11 |
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1 |
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1772818768829874176 |