Unequal anthropogenic enrichment of mercury in Earth's Northern and Southern Hemispheres
- Li, Chuxian
- Sonke, Jeroen, E
- Le Roux, Gaël
- Piotrowska, Natalia
- van Der Putten, Nathalie
- Roberts, Stephen, J
- Daley, Tim
- Rice, Emma
- Gehrels, Roland
- Enrico, Maxime
- Mauquoy, Dmitri
- Roland, Thomas, P
- de Vleeschouwer, François
DOIAbstract
International audienceRemote Northern Hemisphere (NH) and Southern Hemisphere (SH) lake sediment and peat records of mercury (Hg) deposition have shown a ×3 to ×5 Hg enrichment since pre-industrial times (<1880 AD), leading to the perception that global atmospheric Hg enrichment is moderate and uniform across the hemispheres. Anthropogenic Hg emissions in the NH are, however, approximately 4 times higher than those in the SH. Here, we reconstruct atmospheric Hg deposition in four remote SH peatlands and review sediment and peat Hg records from both hemispheres. We observe a ×4 all-time enrichment in SH Hg deposition from pre-anthropogenic (<1450 AD) to the late 20th-century periods, which is lower than the large ×16 all-time enrichment in N...
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