Jørgensen Christian Juncher, Søndergaard Jens, Larsen Martin Mørk, Kjeldsen Kristian Kjellerup, Rosa Diogo, Sapper Sarah Elise, Heimbürger-Boavida Lars-Eric, Kohler Stephen G, Wang Feiyue, Gao Zhiyuan, Armstrong Debbie, Albers Christian Nyrop
Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, Roskilde 4000, Denmark.
Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Copenhagen 1350, Denmark.
Sci Adv. 2024 Jan 26;10(4):eadi7760. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adi7760.
The major input of mercury (Hg) to the Arctic is normally ascribed to long-range transport of anthropogenic Hg emissions. Recently, alarming concentrations of Hg in meltwater from the Greenland Ice Sheet (GrIS) were reported with bedrock as the proposed source. Reported Hg concentrations were 100 to 1000 times higher than in known freshwater systems of Greenland, calling for independent validation of the extraordinary concentrations and conclusions. Here, we present measurements of Hg at 21 glacial outlets in West Greenland showing that extreme Hg concentrations cannot be reproduced. In contrast, we find that meltwater from below the GrIS is very low in Hg, has minor implications for the global Hg budget, and pose only a very limited risk for local communities and the natural environment of Greenland.
北极汞（Hg）的主要输入通常归因于人为汞排放的远距离传输。最近，有报道称格陵兰冰盖（GrIS）融水中汞浓度惊人，提出基岩为潜在来源。报告的汞浓度比格陵兰已知淡水系统中的浓度高100至1000倍，这就需要对这些异常浓度和结论进行独立验证。在此，我们展示了对西格陵兰21个冰川出水口汞的测量结果，表明无法再现极端汞浓度。相反，我们发现GrIS下方的融水汞含量极低，对全球汞预算影响较小，对格陵兰当地社区和自然环境仅构成非常有限的风险。
