A researcher digs down to permafrost under near the village of Abisko, Sweden on August 24, 2021.
Arctic Warming Threatens to Set Off Toxic 'Mercury Bomb,' Study Warns
The release of mercury from permafrost "could take a huge toll on the environment and the health of those living in these areas," said a co-author of the new study.
A study published Thursday in Environmental Research Letters warns that Arctic warming could unleash toxic mercury currently contained in rapidly thawing permafrost, potentially threatening the region's food supply and water quality.
Researchers from the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences noted in the new study that the Arctic is "warming four times faster than the global average, destabilizing permafrost soils that have remained frozen for two or more years and that underlie much of the Arctic."
Mercury (Hg) deposits in the region's permafrost have "accumulated over thousands of years," the study authors noted, "and Hg in the top meter of Arctic soils potentially exceeds the total amount stored in the atmosphere, ocean, and all other soils."
Josh West, professor of Earth sciences and environmental studies at USC Dornsife and a study co-author, said in a statement that "there could be this giant mercury bomb in the Arctic waiting to explode."
The study notes that "a range of processes" can release mercury from permafrost, including riverbank erosion.
"The rivers are reburying a considerable amount of the mercury," West said. "To really get a handle on how much of a threat the mercury poses, we have to understand both the erosion and reburial processes."
Isabel Smith, a doctoral candidate at USC Dornsife and another study co-author, warned that "decades of exposure" to the toxic element, "especially with increasing levels as more mercury is released, could take a huge toll on the environment and the health of those living in these areas."
The study was published as parts of the Arctic experienced what The Washington Post's Ian Livingston described as "exceptionally high temperatures—up 30 to 40 degrees above normal."
"And it's happening as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just announced July was the 14th successive month with record-high global temperatures," Livingston wrote earlier this week. "Over the past week, temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Norman Wells, Canada, just 90 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Locations in Alaska set numerous record highs."
"Off the coast of Greenland, Longyearbyen, Norway, the northernmost city on Earth with a sizable population, witnessed its warmest August day, with a high of nearly 70," he added.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just four days to go in our Spring Campaign, we are not even halfway to our goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A study published Thursday in Environmental Research Letters warns that Arctic warming could unleash toxic mercury currently contained in rapidly thawing permafrost, potentially threatening the region's food supply and water quality.
Researchers from the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences noted in the new study that the Arctic is "warming four times faster than the global average, destabilizing permafrost soils that have remained frozen for two or more years and that underlie much of the Arctic."
Mercury (Hg) deposits in the region's permafrost have "accumulated over thousands of years," the study authors noted, "and Hg in the top meter of Arctic soils potentially exceeds the total amount stored in the atmosphere, ocean, and all other soils."
Josh West, professor of Earth sciences and environmental studies at USC Dornsife and a study co-author, said in a statement that "there could be this giant mercury bomb in the Arctic waiting to explode."
The study notes that "a range of processes" can release mercury from permafrost, including riverbank erosion.
"The rivers are reburying a considerable amount of the mercury," West said. "To really get a handle on how much of a threat the mercury poses, we have to understand both the erosion and reburial processes."
Isabel Smith, a doctoral candidate at USC Dornsife and another study co-author, warned that "decades of exposure" to the toxic element, "especially with increasing levels as more mercury is released, could take a huge toll on the environment and the health of those living in these areas."
The study was published as parts of the Arctic experienced what The Washington Post's Ian Livingston described as "exceptionally high temperatures—up 30 to 40 degrees above normal."
"And it's happening as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just announced July was the 14th successive month with record-high global temperatures," Livingston wrote earlier this week. "Over the past week, temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Norman Wells, Canada, just 90 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Locations in Alaska set numerous record highs."
"Off the coast of Greenland, Longyearbyen, Norway, the northernmost city on Earth with a sizable population, witnessed its warmest August day, with a high of nearly 70," he added.
A study published Thursday in Environmental Research Letters warns that Arctic warming could unleash toxic mercury currently contained in rapidly thawing permafrost, potentially threatening the region's food supply and water quality.
Researchers from the University of Southern California's Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences noted in the new study that the Arctic is "warming four times faster than the global average, destabilizing permafrost soils that have remained frozen for two or more years and that underlie much of the Arctic."
Mercury (Hg) deposits in the region's permafrost have "accumulated over thousands of years," the study authors noted, "and Hg in the top meter of Arctic soils potentially exceeds the total amount stored in the atmosphere, ocean, and all other soils."
Josh West, professor of Earth sciences and environmental studies at USC Dornsife and a study co-author, said in a statement that "there could be this giant mercury bomb in the Arctic waiting to explode."
The study notes that "a range of processes" can release mercury from permafrost, including riverbank erosion.
"The rivers are reburying a considerable amount of the mercury," West said. "To really get a handle on how much of a threat the mercury poses, we have to understand both the erosion and reburial processes."
Isabel Smith, a doctoral candidate at USC Dornsife and another study co-author, warned that "decades of exposure" to the toxic element, "especially with increasing levels as more mercury is released, could take a huge toll on the environment and the health of those living in these areas."
The study was published as parts of the Arctic experienced what The Washington Post's Ian Livingston described as "exceptionally high temperatures—up 30 to 40 degrees above normal."
"And it's happening as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration just announced July was the 14th successive month with record-high global temperatures," Livingston wrote earlier this week. "Over the past week, temperatures soared to nearly 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Norman Wells, Canada, just 90 miles south of the Arctic Circle. Locations in Alaska set numerous record highs."
"Off the coast of Greenland, Longyearbyen, Norway, the northernmost city on Earth with a sizable population, witnessed its warmest August day, with a high of nearly 70," he added.