Brain Booster for UPSC & State PCS Examination (Topic: Mercury found in Rivers Linked to Greenland Ice Sheet)

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Topic: Mercury found in Rivers Linked to Greenland Ice Sheet

Mercury found in Rivers Linked to Greenland Ice Sheet

Why in News?

  • According to the latest research report, high concentrations of mercury, a naturally occuring toxic metal, were found in the water bodies fed by the Greenland Ice Sheet.

Key Highlights of the Report

  • The mercury content in the rivers and fjords of southwestern Greenland was similar to that found in the polluted inland rives of China.
  • The researchers collected water samples from three rivers and two fjords connected to the ice-sheet and found almost ten times the volume of mercury than normal rivers.
  • Typical dissolved mercury content in rivers are about 1 – 10 ng L-1 (the equivalent of a salt grain-sized amount of mercury in an Olympic swimming pool of water).
  • In the glacier meltwater rivers sampled in Greenland, scientists found dissolved mercury levels in excess of 150 ng L-1, far higher than an average river.
  • Particulate mercury carried by glacial flour (the sediment that makes glacial rivers look milky) was found in very high concentrations of more than 2000 ng L-1.

Reasons

  • According to the scientists, the toxins did not end up in the meltwaters from industries or other anthropogenic activities, as is the case with most contaminants.
  • Mercury-rich bedrock is weathered during the slow movement of glaciers down the slope of hills and the ground particles are carried into the streams as the glacier melts.

Concerns

  • According to the researchers, mercury coming from climatically sensitive environments like glaciers could be a source that is much more difficult to manage.
  • Water pollution caused similarly can be heightened as the Earth continues to heat up and ice-sheets and glaciers melt faster than ever before. The findings, thus, open a new chapter in understanding the impacts of global warming.
  • The findings strengthen a growing body of research that dismisses the conception that glaciers have little or no influence on the Earth’s geochemical and biological processes.
  • The large volumes of the metal can find its way into the coastal food webs through bioaccumulation and impact the Arctic ecosystem. Greenland is a major seafood exporter.