西班牙罗卡索拉诺物理化学研究所 Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso和意大利都灵科技大学极地科学研究所Spolaor, Andrea研究团队成员提出，随着气候变暖，北极汞通量在末次冰期结束时增加。相关研究结果于2023年5月4日发表于国际一流学术期刊《自然—地球科学》杂志上。
作为东格陵兰冰芯项目的一部分，研究团队收集并展示了一份北极汞的数据记录，记录涵盖了全新世早期(2000 CE以前的1.57-0.9万年)最后到一次冰期的结束。研究发现，从末次冰期结束到全新世早期，汞沉积通量与之前相比增加了三倍，这与区域性气候突然变暖相一致。结合现有的海冰替代物，大气化学建模展现了海洋蒸发和大气汞溴推动了这一气候转变期间汞通量的增加。研究结果强调，与气候变暖相关的环境变化可能会导致北极生态系统中汞含量的增加。
据悉，汞是一种被全球关注的污染物，尤其是在北极，尽管地处偏远，但在那里的生物群中发现了高含量的汞。汞可以通过大气、海洋和河流的长程路径迁移到北极，并在水生和陆生生态系统中累积。虽然，目前北极地区自然和人为排放的汞沉积得了到许多学者的关注和广泛的研究，但人们对过去的气候变化对自然的控制汞变化仍然知之甚少。
附：英文原文
Title: Arctic mercury flux increased through the Last Glacial Termination with a warming climate
Author: Segato, Delia, Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso, Mahajan, Anoop Sharad, Wang, Feiyue, Corella, Juan Pablo, Cuevas, Carlos Alberto, Erhardt, Tobias, Jensen, Camilla Marie, Zeppenfeld, Chantal, Kjr, Helle Astrid, Turetta, Clara, Cairns, Warren Raymond Lee, Barbante, Carlo, Spolaor, Andrea
Issue&Volume: 2023-05-04
Abstract: Mercury is a pollutant of global concern, especially in the Arctic, where high levels are found in biota despite its remote location. Mercury is transported to the Arctic via atmospheric, oceanic and riverine long-range pathways, where it accumulates in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. While present-day mercury deposition in the Arctic from natural and anthropogenic emissions is extensively studied, the control of past climate changes on natural mercury variability remains unknown. Here we present an Arctic mercury record covering the Last Glacial Termination to the early Holocene epoch (15.7–9.0 thousand years before 2000 CE), collected as part of the East Greenland Ice-Core Project. We find a threefold increase in mercury depositional fluxes from the Last Glacial Termination into the early Holocene, which coincided with abrupt regional climate warming. Atmospheric chemistry modelling, combined with available sea-ice proxies, indicates that oceanic mercury evaporation and atmospheric bromine drove the increase in mercury flux during this climatic transition. Our results suggest that environmental changes associated with climate warming may contribute to increasing mercury levels in Arctic ecosystems.
DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01172-9
Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41561-023-01172-9