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A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations

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dc.contributor.author Fisher, JA
dc.contributor.author Schneider, L
dc.contributor.author Fostier, A-H
dc.contributor.author Guerrero, S
dc.contributor.author Guimaraes, JD
dc.contributor.author Labuschagne, Casper
dc.contributor.author Leaner, JJ
dc.contributor.author Martin, Lynwill G
dc.contributor.author Mason, RP
dc.contributor.author Walters, Chavon R
dc.date.accessioned 2024-03-20T11:57:33Z
dc.date.available 2024-03-20T11:57:33Z
dc.date.issued 2023-05
dc.identifier.citation Fisher, J., Schneider, L., Fostier, A., Guerrero, S., Guimaraes, J., Labuschagne, C., Leaner, J. & Martin, L.G. et al. 2023. A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations. <i>Ambio, 52(5).</i> http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13653 en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0044-7447
dc.identifier.issn 1654-7209
dc.identifier.uri https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-023-01840-5
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13653
dc.description.abstract Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination is a global concern requiring action at national scales. Scientific understanding and regulatory policies are underpinned by global extrapolation of Northern Hemisphere Hg data, despite historical, political, and socioeconomic differences between the hemispheres that impact Hg sources and sinks. In this paper, we explore the primary anthropogenic perturbations to Hg emission and mobilization processes that differ between hemispheres and synthesize current understanding of the implications for Hg cycling. In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), lower historical production of Hg and other metals implies lower present-day legacy emissions, but the extent of the difference remains uncertain. More use of fire and higher deforestation rates drive re-mobilization of terrestrial Hg, while also removing vegetation that would otherwise provide a sink for atmospheric Hg. Prevalent Hg use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a dominant source of Hg inputs to the environment in tropical regions. Meanwhile, coal-fired power stations continue to be a significant Hg emission source and industrial production of non-ferrous metals is a large and growing contributor. Major uncertainties remain, hindering scientific understanding and effective policy formulation, and we argue for an urgent need to prioritize research activities in under-sampled regions of the SH. en_US
dc.format Fulltext en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.relation.uri https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-023-01840-5 en_US
dc.relation.uri https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36952094/ en_US
dc.source Ambio, 52(5) en_US
dc.subject Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining en_US
dc.subject ASGM en_US
dc.subject Deforestation en_US
dc.subject Legacy mercury en_US
dc.subject Mercury emissions en_US
dc.subject Methylmercury en_US
dc.subject Southern Hemisphere en_US
dc.title A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dc.description.pages 918-937 en_US
dc.description.note This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. en_US
dc.description.cluster Smart Places en_US
dc.description.impactarea Smart Water Analysis and Solutions en_US
dc.identifier.apacitation Fisher, J., Schneider, L., Fostier, A., Guerrero, S., Guimaraes, J., Labuschagne, C., ... Walters, C. R. (2023). A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations. <i>Ambio, 52(5)</i>, http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13653 en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitation Fisher, JA, L Schneider, A-H Fostier, S Guerrero, JD Guimaraes, Casper Labuschagne, JJ Leaner, Lynwill G Martin, RP Mason, and Chavon R Walters "A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations." <i>Ambio, 52(5)</i> (2023) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13653 en_ZA
dc.identifier.vancouvercitation Fisher J, Schneider L, Fostier A, Guerrero S, Guimaraes J, Labuschagne C, et al. A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations. Ambio, 52(5). 2023; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13653. en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Article AU - Fisher, JA AU - Schneider, L AU - Fostier, A-H AU - Guerrero, S AU - Guimaraes, JD AU - Labuschagne, Casper AU - Leaner, JJ AU - Martin, Lynwill G AU - Mason, RP AU - Walters, Chavon R AB - Environmental mercury (Hg) contamination is a global concern requiring action at national scales. Scientific understanding and regulatory policies are underpinned by global extrapolation of Northern Hemisphere Hg data, despite historical, political, and socioeconomic differences between the hemispheres that impact Hg sources and sinks. In this paper, we explore the primary anthropogenic perturbations to Hg emission and mobilization processes that differ between hemispheres and synthesize current understanding of the implications for Hg cycling. In the Southern Hemisphere (SH), lower historical production of Hg and other metals implies lower present-day legacy emissions, but the extent of the difference remains uncertain. More use of fire and higher deforestation rates drive re-mobilization of terrestrial Hg, while also removing vegetation that would otherwise provide a sink for atmospheric Hg. Prevalent Hg use in artisanal and small-scale gold mining is a dominant source of Hg inputs to the environment in tropical regions. Meanwhile, coal-fired power stations continue to be a significant Hg emission source and industrial production of non-ferrous metals is a large and growing contributor. Major uncertainties remain, hindering scientific understanding and effective policy formulation, and we argue for an urgent need to prioritize research activities in under-sampled regions of the SH. DA - 2023-05 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR J1 - Ambio, 52(5) KW - Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining KW - ASGM KW - Deforestation KW - Legacy mercury KW - Mercury emissions KW - Methylmercury KW - Southern Hemisphere LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2023 SM - 0044-7447 SM - 1654-7209 T1 - A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations TI - A synthesis of mercury research in the Southern Hemisphere, part 2: Anthropogenic perturbations UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/13653 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.worklist 26648 en_US


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