Mercury levels at the ocean surface have tripled since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, and human hands are responsible , according to a new study published in the journal Nature .
A team of researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (USA) has carried out a study based on recent measurements in the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic and Antarctic oceans that leave no doubt: the amount of mercury from human activity since the time of the Industrial Revolution to the present day has left about 300 million moles of mercury in the Earth’s seas (with a margin of error of 80 million moles), which represents an increase of almost 150% .
According to scientists, two-thirds of total mercury is concentrated less than 1,000 meters deep . This chemical element with the name of a Roman god is highly volatile and disperses rapidly through the atmosphere, eventually ending up in the oceans. But, despite the fact that this happens naturally through volcanic eruptions or rock erosion, the production of cement, the combustion of coal, the extraction of gold, the burning of garbage … all this has contributed to alter this cycle. normal, bringing us to the current situation.
But , what effects will this accumulation of mercury have in the oceans? Methyl mercury, the most common in the environment, is a highly toxic organic compound that can accumulate in the food chain and thus contaminate marine life.
“Although we believe that mercury has increased in ocean water, we do not know enough about the biomagnification process (accumulation of toxins in the food chain) to affirm that it has also increased in fish and therefore poses a danger. The most logical initial hypothesis is to think that the fish have followed the same path as the ocean water, but we have yet to prove it, ”says Carl Lamborg, leader of the study.
