Scientists have linked global warming to increased runoff, and in turn, increased levels of mercury in the ocean and fish:
Rising temperatures could boost mercury levels in fish by up to seven times the current rates, say Swedish researchers. They've discovered a new way in which warming increases levels of the toxin in sea creatures. In experiments, they found that extra rainfall drives up the amount of organic material flowing into the seas. This alters the food chain, adding another layer of complex organisms which boosts the concentrations of mercury up the line. The study has been published [open, DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1601239] [DX] in the journal, Science Advances.
I, for one, welcome our newly mercury-enriched diets.
(Score: 2) by bradley13 on Monday January 30 2017, @08:54AM
Computers have gotten a lot faster since the 1950s, which is the same period that the human contribution to global warming has been the highest. So at least one good thing is coming out of it. Who knew that global warming caused Moore's law?
Actually, TFA is worse than that. From the abstract: "Escalating anthropogenic land use and climate change are expected to alter the input rates of terrestrial natural organic matter (NOM) and nutrients to aquatic ecosystems. ... we predict that MeHg concentration in zooplankton can increase by a factor of 3 to 6 in coastal areas."
It's all expectations and predictions. They created a model in a tank. No real-world data at all.
Everyone is somebody else's weirdo.
(Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday January 30 2017, @03:03PM
So yeah, I think there could be a high numbers-arse coefficient in this result.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves