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Global Warming Could Boost Mercury Levels in Fish

posted by Fnord666 on Monday January 30 2017, @04:04AM   Printer-friendly
from the what-about-mars? dept.

takyon writes:

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.

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  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Monday January 30 2017, @03:03PM

    by FatPhil (863) <reversethis-{if.fdsa} {ta} {tnelyos-cp}> on Monday January 30 2017, @03:03PM (#460658) Homepage
    I don't know if these swedish researchers have ever fished a herring out of the Baltic sea, because if they had, they'd know that were it to have 6 times the current mercury levels, it could be used without modification as a thermometer. Assuming you could catch one, as it would sink to the bottom of the sea. Pollutant levels are already currently too high to permit their sales outside the region, for dioxin-related health concerns, mostly because of unregulated Polish and Russian industrial pollution in past decades. Poland's fixed its act, levels really ought to be dropping (unless Russia's taking up the slack).

    So yeah, I think there could be a high numbers-arse coefficient in this result.
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