And as that permafrost thaws, new research says those ancient stores of mercury are being released into the Arctic where it threatens to increase the concentration of the toxic metal in traditional food sources. “We’re starting to see evidence of that natural mercury entering rivers, lakes and ultimately the Arctic Ocean,” said Peter Outridge, a scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada. A recently published paper in the journal Nature Reviews says 200 tonnes of mercury end up in the Arctic Ocean each year. Traditional food still safe to eatOutridge said mercury levels in Arctic food animals are 10 times higher than they were before the Industrial Revolution, and those levels peaked in between the 1960s and 1980s. Since then, he said, mercury concentrations in Arctic animals have been generally stable or declining.

Source: CBC News June 06, 2022 13:36 UTC