The amount of mercury near the surface of many of the world’s oceans has tripled as the result of pollution, a new study said, with potentially damaging implications for marine life as the result of the accumulation of the toxic metal.
Mercury is accumulating in the surface layers of the seas faster than in the deep ocean, as the element enters the atmosphere and seas from a variety of sources, including mines, coal-fired power plants and sewage. Mercury is toxic to humans and marine life, and accumulates over time as people are exposed to sources of it.
Since the industrial revolution, the mercury content of shallow ocean layers has tripled, the letter published in the peer-review journal Nature said on Thursday.
The scientists behind the letter, including researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in the US, said further research could yield more advice on the potential impacts.
“This information may aid our understanding of the processes and the depths at which inorganic mercury species are converted into toxic methyl mercury and subsequently bioaccumulated in marine food webs,” the scientists said.
University of Southampton ocean and Earth science lecturer Simon Boxall said it was “hard to say” from the research how much damage had already been done to marine life, including edible fish species, and how quickly any such damage would become apparent.
“I would not stop eating ocean fish as a result of this,” he said. “But it is a good indicator of how much impact we are having on the marine environment. It is an alarm call for the future.”
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