Arctic sea-ice controls the release of mercury
Posted by ScienceDaily: Oceanography News on 19 January, 2011
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This item was filled under Climate
Scientists have recently highlighted a new role that sea-ice plays in the mercury cycle in the Arctic. By blocking sunlight, sea-ice could influence the breakdown and transfer into the atmosphere of toxic forms of mercury present in the surface waters of the Arctic Ocean. These results suggest that climate plays a key role in the mercury cycle and that the release of mercury into the atmosphere could be accentuated by the melting of Arctic sea-ice....