ABSTRACT

(on behalf of co-authors: Robert Mason (University of Connecticut, USA), Feiyue Wang (University of Manitoba, Canada), Saul Guerrero (Universidad Metropitana, Venezuela), and Lars-Eric Heimbürger (Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography, France)

The environmental geochemistry of mercury (Hg) is one of the most complex of all trace metals, with Hg able to exist simultaneously in the environment in multiple physico-chemical forms with differing geochemistries, toxicities and fates. One of these forms, highly toxic monomethyl-mercury, is the only metal species known to biomagnify in foodwebs and is responsible for most of the damage to human and wildlife populations around the world. In support of efforts to reduce Hg levels in humans and wildlife, United Nations - Environment (UNE) is undertaking 5-yearly reviews of the state of Hg science.

This presentation summarizes one part of that effort: what the mercury science community has learned over the past 5-10 years about the global Hg cycle. As part of the talk, the new global and oceanic Hg budgets to be used in the 2018 UNE Global Mercury Assessment will be reviewed.