Mercury pollution levels in the Earth's atmosphere have spiked by seven times since the modern era began around 1500 CE, new research shows., found that the atmosphere once contained about 580 metric tons of mercury before human emissions of the substance began.
"Understanding the natural mercury cycle driven by volcanic emissions sets a baseline goal for policies aimed at reducing mercury emissions and allows us to understand the full impact of human activities on the environment," said lead author Elsie M. Sunderland, an environmental scientist at Harvard University, in aMercury, and in particular a form of it called methylmercury, is highly toxic to humans.
According to the researchers, less than a nanogram of mercury is typically found in a cubic meter of air — a trace so minuscule that it can't even be detected by satellites. "The nice thing about sulfur dioxide is that it's really easy to see using satellites," said co-author Benjamin Geyman, an Earth scientist at Harvard, in the statement. "Using sulfur dioxide as a proxy for mercury allows us to understand where and when volcanic mercury emissions are occurring."With the help of an atmospheric model, the researchers could also track the movements of the plumes, confirming that mercury can travel far past its injection site.
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