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Updated: Jun 4, 2025

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium
Published on: December 17, 2018
Mercury records from natural archives reveal ecosystem responses to changing atmospheric deposition
Qinqin Chen1,2,3, Qingru Wu1,2,3, Yuying Cui1,2,3
1School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Abstract:
Global ecosystems face mercury contamination, yet long-term data are scarce, hindering understanding of ecosystem responses to atmospheric Hg input changes. To bridge the data gap and assess ecosystem responses, we compiled and compared a mercury accumulation database from peat, lake, ice and marine deposits worldwide with atmospheric mercury deposition modelled by GEOS-Chem, focusing on trends, magnitudes, spatial-temporal distributions and impact factors. The mercury fluxes in all four deposits showed a 5- to 9-fold increase over 1700-2012, with lake and peat mercury fluxes that generally mirrored atmospheric deposition trends. Significant decreases in lake and peat mercury fluxes post-1950 in Europe evidenced effective environmental policies, whereas rises in East Asia, Africa and Oceania highlighted coal-use impacts, inter alia. Conversely, mercury fluxes in marine and high-altitude ecosystems did not align well with atmospheric deposition, emphasizing natural influences over anthropogenic impacts. Our study underscores the importance of these key regions and ecosystems for future mercury management.
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