Natural and anthropogenic variations in atmospheric mercury deposition during the Holocene near Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru

Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that is transported globally through the atmosphere. Emissions of Hg from mineral reservoirs and recycling between soil/biomass, oceans, and the atmosphere are fundamental to the global Hg cycle, yet past emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources are not fully co...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Global Biogeochemical Cycles
Main Authors: Beal, Samuel A., Kelly, Meredith A., Stroup, Justin S., Jackson, Brian P., Lowell, Thomas V., Tapia, Pedro M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union 2014
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Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12866/10471
https://doi.org/10.1002/2013GB004780
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Summary:Mercury (Hg) is a toxic metal that is transported globally through the atmosphere. Emissions of Hg from mineral reservoirs and recycling between soil/biomass, oceans, and the atmosphere are fundamental to the global Hg cycle, yet past emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources are not fully constrained. We use a sediment core from Yanacocha, a headwater lake in southeastern Peru, to study the anthropogenic and natural controls on atmospheric Hg deposition during the Holocene.