Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant; its organic form, methylmercury (MeHg), is a neurotoxin that bioaccumulates in marine food webs, impacting human and wildlife health in the Arctic. The interaction between Hg and methane (CH4) cycling in Arctic sediment remains unknown, despite significant CH4 emissions.
The international collaboration Circum-Arctic Sediment Carbon Database (CASCADE) curates data from the entire Arctic Ocean on organic carbon, nitrogen, carbon isotopes, and biomarkers. The vision for CASCADE is to be expanded by other components, organic contaminants, more biomarkers, sediment physical properties and sediment cores.
While global efforts are undertaken to mitigate anthropogenic emissions of Hg, thawing permafrost and melting glaciers threatens to mobilize large amounts of Mercury (Hg) into the Arctic Ocean (AO). Future risks of wildlife and human mercury exposure, however, remain highly uncertain.
We will develop a high-resolution GCMS method for targeted and non-targeted analysis of hydrophobic organic contaminants and apply the method in Arctic samples to investigate the contaminant fingerprint and fate in Arctic shelf sediment.
