Mercury Toxic Substances Found in the Deepest Seas of the Earth, What are the Impacts?

Man-made mercury pollution has reached the deepest seabed, according to scientists.

Two groups of scientists from China and the United States found toxic mercury in fish and crustaceans that live more than 11 thousand meters below sea level — precisely in the Mariana Trench.

"This is shocking. Previous research stated that mercury was found in the top several hundred meters of the ocean. That way, deep sea animals are unlikely to swallow the hazardous substance. But now, we know that's not true, said Dr. Ruoyu Su, research leader from Tianjin University in China.

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Mercury, which is ingested by small marine animals, can ultimately endanger larger species when they eat the organism. This produces more dangerous concentrations of liquid metal that accumulates in the top animals in the food chain.

This poisonous mercury is very dangerous for other animals and also humans, especially in developing fetuses.

Dr. Sun and his team used deep-sea exploration vehicles to capture animals at a depth of 7,000-11,000 meters and take sediment samples at 5,500-9,200 meters.

"We can present clear evidence of the mercury isotope that it originates from the upper ocean," said Dr. Sun.

The second research team, led by Dr. Joel Blum of the University of Michigan, took fish and crustacean samples from two of the Pacific's deepest trenches - Kermadec near New Zealand and Mariana in the Philippines.

Researchers revealed that mercury was found in species in both trenches. Most of it comes from the atmosphere, then enters the ocean through rain.

Dr Blum said: "We know that mercury falls from the atmosphere to the surface of the sea, then is carried into the deep sea by the sinking of fish and marine mammals.

"We identified this by measuring the composition of the isotope of mercury, which shows that sea floor mercury matches fish found at depths of around 400-600 meters in the Central Pacific. Some of this mercury is produced naturally, but most likely comes from human activities, "he explained.

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This study shows that the mercury released by humans has reached and entered the food chain, even in the most remote marine ecosystems on Earth.

"A better understanding of the origin of mercury in the deepest regions of the ocean will help in modeling the fate of mercury in the atmosphere and the ocean," concluded Blum.


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