Research project The project focuses on how mercury is transported from thawing permafrost and accumulates through the food web, with links to climate change warming in the Arctic.
As climate change accelerates Arctic warming, there is growing concern that thawing permafrost may release long-stored contaminants, most notably mercury (Hg), and nutrients into adjacent aquatic ecosystems. This project focus on the transfer and accumulation of Hg from thawing permafrost and further through the food chain.
As climate change accelerates Arctic warming, there is growing concern that thawing permafrost may release long-stored contaminants, most notably mercury (Hg), and nutrients into adjacent aquatic ecosystems. Mercury is a neurotoxin that accumulates and biomagnifies through food webs, posing a significant risk to top predators and, ultimately, to human health. If permafrost thaw results in a substantial increase in Hg concentrations in lakes, it may necessitate new adaptive management strategies for Arctic ecosystems.
Pollutants such as Hg do not respect ecosystem boundaries, and their movement across the terrestrial-aquatic interface can have complex and cascading ecological effects. Yet, research and management efforts often focus on either terrestrial or aquatic systems. It is therefore essential to consider both within-, and across-ecosystem effects to fully understand the implications of contaminant release. In addition, increased inputs of nutrient and carbon from thawing soils may alter the productivity of Arctic lakes, potentially affecting the transfer of Hg to food webs in reciprocal ecosystems. However, such lateral connections remain undocumented.
The purpose of this study is therefore to assess how permafrost thaw directly and indirectly influences Hg accumulation in arctic food webs, with a special emphasis on the transfer across classic ecosystem boundaries.
