Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors
Abstract Inorganic mercury (iHg) is an anthropogenic pollutant that forms monomethylmercury, a neurotoxicant affecting human health through seafood consumption. Despite iHg emissions reductions, the impact on oceanic concentrations remains unclear due to limited long-term data. Here, we present a fo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-04-01
|
| Series: | Communications Earth & Environment |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02263-8 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850181776456024064 |
|---|---|
| author | Hannah M. Adams Peipei Wu Iris Kübler-Dudgeon Carl H. Lamborg Jeff S. Bowman Amina T. Schartup |
| author_facet | Hannah M. Adams Peipei Wu Iris Kübler-Dudgeon Carl H. Lamborg Jeff S. Bowman Amina T. Schartup |
| author_sort | Hannah M. Adams |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Inorganic mercury (iHg) is an anthropogenic pollutant that forms monomethylmercury, a neurotoxicant affecting human health through seafood consumption. Despite iHg emissions reductions, the impact on oceanic concentrations remains unclear due to limited long-term data. Here, we present a four-year weekly time series of oceanic iHg concentrations at Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California, capturing interannual and seasonal variability. Interannual variability is driven by wet season precipitation, with wet years exhibiting sevenfold higher iHg concentration variance than dry years, potentially linking to El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Seasonally, precipitation and wave dynamics influence iHg inputs, with wet seasons driven by precipitation and runoff and dry seasons by upwelling. These parameters informed a model built to reconstruct a 20-year record of iHg concentrations, suggesting a long-term decline of 0.005 pM yr−1 due to climate-driven effects alone. This study highlights challenges in detecting long-term trends and emphasizes the need for sustained monitoring of oceanic iHg. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1a1696d5a9454c3a8a90fd3deb52bee1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4435 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Earth & Environment |
| spelling | doaj-art-1a1696d5a9454c3a8a90fd3deb52bee12025-08-20T02:17:49ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Earth & Environment2662-44352025-04-01611910.1038/s43247-025-02263-8Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factorsHannah M. Adams0Peipei Wu1Iris Kübler-Dudgeon2Carl H. Lamborg3Jeff S. Bowman4Amina T. Schartup5Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoDepartment of Ocean Sciences, University of California Santa CruzScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoScripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San DiegoAbstract Inorganic mercury (iHg) is an anthropogenic pollutant that forms monomethylmercury, a neurotoxicant affecting human health through seafood consumption. Despite iHg emissions reductions, the impact on oceanic concentrations remains unclear due to limited long-term data. Here, we present a four-year weekly time series of oceanic iHg concentrations at Scripps Pier in La Jolla, California, capturing interannual and seasonal variability. Interannual variability is driven by wet season precipitation, with wet years exhibiting sevenfold higher iHg concentration variance than dry years, potentially linking to El Niño-Southern Oscillation. Seasonally, precipitation and wave dynamics influence iHg inputs, with wet seasons driven by precipitation and runoff and dry seasons by upwelling. These parameters informed a model built to reconstruct a 20-year record of iHg concentrations, suggesting a long-term decline of 0.005 pM yr−1 due to climate-driven effects alone. This study highlights challenges in detecting long-term trends and emphasizes the need for sustained monitoring of oceanic iHg.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02263-8 |
| spellingShingle | Hannah M. Adams Peipei Wu Iris Kübler-Dudgeon Carl H. Lamborg Jeff S. Bowman Amina T. Schartup Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors Communications Earth & Environment |
| title | Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors |
| title_full | Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors |
| title_fullStr | Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors |
| title_short | Coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors |
| title_sort | coastal inorganic mercury time series reveals interannual and seasonal variability driven by regional climate factors |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02263-8 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hannahmadams coastalinorganicmercurytimeseriesrevealsinterannualandseasonalvariabilitydrivenbyregionalclimatefactors AT peipeiwu coastalinorganicmercurytimeseriesrevealsinterannualandseasonalvariabilitydrivenbyregionalclimatefactors AT iriskublerdudgeon coastalinorganicmercurytimeseriesrevealsinterannualandseasonalvariabilitydrivenbyregionalclimatefactors AT carlhlamborg coastalinorganicmercurytimeseriesrevealsinterannualandseasonalvariabilitydrivenbyregionalclimatefactors AT jeffsbowman coastalinorganicmercurytimeseriesrevealsinterannualandseasonalvariabilitydrivenbyregionalclimatefactors AT aminatschartup coastalinorganicmercurytimeseriesrevealsinterannualandseasonalvariabilitydrivenbyregionalclimatefactors |