Mercury climate change

Martinez-Cortizas A, Pontevedra-Pombal X, Garcia-Rodeja E, N6voa-Munoz JC, Shotyk W. 1999. Mercury in a Spanish peat bog archive of climate change and atmospheric metal deposition. Science 284 939-942. 

Grimalt JO, Catalan J, Fernandez P, Pina B, Munthe J (2010) Distribution of persistent organic pollutants and mercury in freshwater ecosystems under changing climate conditions. In Keman M, Battarbee RW, Moss B (eds) Climate change impacts on freshwater ecosystems. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, pp 180-202 (Chapter 8)... 

See Testimony of David G. Hawkins, Director, NRDC Climate Center, Hearings on S. 385, Clear Skies Act of 2003 , U.S. Senate Committee on Environment Public Works, Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate Change, and Nuclear Safety, April 8, 2003 National Environmental Trust http //www.cleartheair.org/mercury/mercuryhurts. 

Peter J. Dillon, Ph.D. (Toronto), F.R.S.C. is a Professor in the Environmental Resource Studies and Chemistry Departments at Trent University where he is Director of the new Water Quality Center. His research interests focus on biogeochemistry effects of regional and global-scale stressors including acid deposition, climate change, mercury and other trace metals on environmental chemistry. 

Booth, S., and D. Zeller. 2005. Mercury, food webs, and marine mammals implications of diet and climate change for human health. Environ. Health Perspect. 113(5) 521-26. Creates, G. E., M. L. H. Green, and K. Wade. 1967-68. Organometallic Compounds, Vols. 1 and 2. London Methuen. 

Research characterizing mercury speciation is an essential first step in the development of models to predict its transport and fate on regional and global scales. This review illustrates that several key global issues are likely to have major impacts on the speciation of mercury. These include (i) climate change, (ii) ozone depletion, and (ii) changes in topography. 

The effects of climate change on the speciation and fate of mercury in Polar ecosystems is particularly important. Not only is mercury increasing in the atmosphere but atmospheric deposition will be favored in colder climates due to changes in atmospheric redox chemistry. This means that mercury released in equatorial areas will undergo a global distillation via a process similar to the grasshopper effect observed with semi-volatUe organic pollutants. 

The release of mercury into the environment, its introduction in the biogeochemical cycle, and its concentrated propagation along the food chain due to changes in climate are a worldwide concern. The problem of mercury in the society is not new, it has long been considered as toxic element of concern owing to its mobility,... 

The vapor pressure of volatile compounds, measured in atmospheres (or millimeters of mercury), varies with temperature. For example, the vapor pressure of acetone increases from 200 to 400 mmHg with a temperature rise from +20 to +40 °C, and that of w-heptane from 100 to 400 mmHg with a temperature change from +40 to +80 °C (e.g. Adams et ah, 1970). The half-lives of several acetates decreased by two- to fourfold when the temperature was raised from 20 to 30 °C (McDonough etal., 1989). In temperate latitudes, temperatures can vary from about 40 to 0 °C within 24 hours. Therefore, it is important to know the vapor pressure of a given compound for the ambient temperatures under which a particular animal species operates. Diurnal and nocturnal animals may have selected different signal compounds (or mixtures). Do polar and tropical species differ in their choice of compounds for communication. Have cold-climate... 

Mercury vaporization losses to the cell room air can amount to 1-5 g/tonne chlorine [30]. Therefore, ventilation is important to ensure safe working conditions, which require that the mercury vapor concentration be kept below 0.05 mg/m. This is achieved by tight cell construction, localized hoods and venting of critical cell areas, and cell room ventilation rates of six to eight air changes per hour (e.g., [31]). Mercury cell chloralkali plants in moderate climates are able to operate their cells outside, which avoids these ventilating problems, but does not control potential emissions. 

French, T.D., L.M. Campbell, D.A. Jackson, J.M. Casselman, W.A. Scheider, and A. Hayton. 2006. Long-term changes in legacy trace organic contaminants and mercury in Lake Ontario salmon in relation to source controls, trophodynamics, and climatic variability. Limnol. Oceanogr. 51 2794-2807. 

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