Scientists from the US Geological Survey found that 793 million kilograms of mercury have accumulated in the permafrost of the Earth's northern hemisphere. Melting ice as a result of global warming will lead to the release of toxic metal into the environment and a global environmental disaster. The researchers' article was published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Permafrost contains natural mercury, which comes from the atmosphere and binds to organic matter in the soil. Subsequently, soil particles are frozen into the ice.
Researchers analyzed 13 ice samples taken in Alaska between 2004 and 2012. The data obtained was compared with the results of the analysis of 11 thousand samples of tundra soils around the world. It turned out that permafrost contains 10 times more natural mercury than was released into the environment as a result of anthropogenic activities over the past 30 years.
A large amount of metal that is released when the ice melts will be converted into methylmercury, a toxic compound that accumulates in the body of living beings and causes severe disorders, including damage to the central nervous system.