National Environmental Research Institute, Department of Arctic Environment, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark.
Sci Total Environ. 2009 Dec 1;407(24):6120-31. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2009.08.036. Epub 2009 Sep 25.
Because of concern about the recently increasing levels of biological Hg in some areas of the Arctic, we examined the literature concerning the long-term changes of Hg in humans and selected Arctic marine mammals and birds of prey since pre-industrial times (i.e. before 1800A.D.), to determine the anthropogenic contribution to present-day Hg concentrations and the historical timing of any changes.
Mercury data from published articles were extracted on historical and pre-industrial concentrations as percentages of the recent maximum, as well as the man-made contribution was calculated and depicted in a uniform manner to provide an overview of the development over time.
Trends of [Hg] in hard tissues such as teeth, hair and feathers consistently showed that there had been an order-of-magnitude increase of [Hg] in Arctic marine foodweb-based animals that began in the mid- to late-19th Century and accelerated in the 20th Century. The median man-made contribution to present-day Hg concentrations was 92.4% ranging from 74.2 to 94.4%. Confidence in our data was increased by accompanying data in some studies on stable isotopes (delta(13)C, delta(15)N), which allowed us to normalize where necessary for changes in animal trophic position and feeding location over time, and by careful attention to the possibility of sample chemical diagenesis (Hg contamination or loss) which can alter the Hg content of ancient hard tissues.
Wildlife hard tissue matrices provide consistent information with respect to the steep onset of Hg exposure of Arctic wildlife beginning in the latter half of the 19th Century. Today the man-made contribution was found to be above 92%. Stable isotope analyses provide important information to normalize for possible changes in diet over time, and are highly relevant to include when interpreting temporal trends, baseline concentrations as well as man-made anthropogenic contribution of Hg.
由于担心北极地区某些地区生物汞含量最近不断增加，我们查阅了有关人类长期汞变化的文献，并选择了北极海洋哺乳动物和猛禽作为研究对象，追溯到工业化前（即公元 1800 年以前），以确定人为因素对当今汞浓度的贡献以及任何变化的历史时间。
从已发表的文章中提取有关历史和工业化前浓度的数据，以最近最大值的百分比表示，并以统一的方式计算和描述人为贡献，以提供随时间发展的概述。
牙齿、毛发和羽毛等硬组织中 [Hg]的趋势一致表明，自 19 世纪中叶以来，北极海洋食物链动物的 [Hg]含量呈数量级增加，并在 20 世纪加速。当今 Hg 浓度的人为贡献中位数为 92.4%，范围为 74.2%至 94.4%。在一些关于稳定同位素（δ(13)C、δ(15)N）的研究中，伴随的数据增加了我们数据的可信度，这些数据允许我们根据动物营养位置和随时间变化的摄食位置进行必要的归一化，并且仔细注意样本化学成岩作用（Hg 污染或损失）的可能性，这会改变古代硬组织中的 Hg 含量。
野生动物硬组织矩阵提供了一致的信息，表明北极野生动物的 Hg 暴露始于 19 世纪后半叶。如今，人为贡献被发现超过 92%。稳定同位素分析提供了重要信息，可用于随时间变化的饮食进行归一化，并且在解释时间趋势、基线浓度以及 Hg 的人为人为贡献时非常相关。
