Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Schaefer K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7494925 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Potential impacts of mercury released from thawing permafrost.
Schaefer Kevin K Elshorbany Yasin Y Jafarov Elchin E Schuster Paul F PF Striegl Robert G RG Wickland Kimberly P KP Sunderland Elsie M EM
Nature communications 20200916 1
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 incr ...[more]
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