Antarctica’s melting glaciers are leaking toxic mercury into the ocean

Tidewater glacier on the Antarctic coast. Image Credit: Jason Auch/Wikipedia Antarctica is releasing alarming amounts of mercury into the surrounding ocean as climate change accelerates the melting of its glaciers. A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) has found that mercury accumulation in sediments around the Antarctic Peninsula has risen sharply since industrialisation, while melting ice is releasing mercury that had been stored for decades. The findings reveal that Antarctica is no longer simply acting as a place where mercury becomes trapped. It is increasingly becoming a source of the toxic metal. The change matters because mercury can move through marine ecosystems, becoming more dangerous as it passes from tiny organisms to fish and larger animals. With some Antarctic fish and krill entering commercial fisheries, researchers say that the changing mercury cycle could eventually have consequences beyond the frozen continent.How did mercury become trapped in AntarcticaAntarctica may seem far removed from the industrial activity responsible for much of the world's pollution, but mercury can travel long distances through the atmosphe...