News Oceans

Climate change may boost toxic mercury levels in sea life

Increased runoff shifts marine ecosystems, concentrating more of the contaminant in food webs, experiments suggest

researcher working with mercury

MEDDLESOME MERCURY  Increased runoff into Earth’s oceans could increase methylmercury concentrations in marine ecosystems by altering the food web, new laboratory tests show. Here a researcher adds methylmercury to a vat containing coastal microbes.

Sofi Jonsson

By Thomas Sumner

- More than 2 years ago

The muddying of coastal waters by climate change could drastically increase levels of neurotoxic mercury in sea life, contaminating food supplies.