Progress in the Study of Mercury in Snow and Ice

Abstract

Because of its high toxic property and capability of long-distance transport,mercury has been recognized as a global pollutant and is among the most concerned heavy metals within the natural environment in recent decades.The global biogeochemistry cycling of mercury has received considerable attention and has been a hot topic in environmental science for years,The cryosphere is one of the key components of the Earth System,and also is itself a key component of the climate system,therefore playing a significant role in interaction among other spheres.Snow and ice are the most important components of the cryosphere and they represent excellent archives of climatic and environmental changes.Therefore,studying behaviors of mercury in the past and present snow/ice is of significance for understanding the global biogeochemical cycling of mercury.In this paper,previous studies regarding seasonal and spatial variations of mercury concentrations in present snow/ice and the history of mercury research in ice cores over the past several decades were reviewed.Studies of snow-air exchange of mercury in Arctic and sub-Arctic environments are summerized,and progress of methods for mercury measurement was presented.We suggested that several aspects should be highlighted in the future studies on merany in snow and ice,reconstruction historical records of mercur changes using ice cores(particularly from Tibetan Plateau) are highly recommended.Additionally,studies regarding behaviors of snow-air exchange of mercury in mid-latitude and low-latitude glaciers as well as the potential application of mercury isotopes to snow/ice research are recommended.