Cumulative Anthropogenic Impacts of Past and Future Emissions and Releases on the Global Mercury Cycle.

ABSTRACT: Humans have intentionally mined and released mercury (Hg) from the Earth's lithosphere over millennia. Here, we synthesize past, present, and future anthropogenic Hg emissions and releases and use a global geochemical box model to characterize accumulation in the atmosphere, land, and ocean. We project an upper-bound for emissions and releases between 2010 and 2300 (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP)5-8.5; 1.7 Tg) that surpasses the historical total over the past half millennium (1.5 Tg). In contrast, the lower-bound for emissions and releases (SSP1-2.6; 0.7 Tg) is substantially smaller than the historical total. Observational constraints on global modeling suggest that most Hg released to land and water prior to 2010 remains sequestered at contaminated sites. Substantial oceanic enrichmen

SUBMITTER: Geyman BM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12060277 | biostudies-literature | 2025 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature