No mercury from Greenland glacial runoff in sessile coastal biota
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Melting glaciers have been claimed to be a significant and unaccounted-for source of mercury (Hg) in Greenland, raising concerns for economics, communities and ecosystem health. Here we demonstrate, however, that benthic species from Greenland fjords contain negligible concentrations of mercury across > 100 km spatial gradients and decadal time scales. Our results, together with other studies on Hg in Greenland’s waters, sediments, and planktonic species, cannot reproduce the previously reported mercury contamination from glaciers, and there is now substantial evidence against the claim that Greenland ice sheet has implications for Hg budgets and coastal ecosystems.
