Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences

Mercury in the environment: where does it come from, where does it go?

Professor Daniel Jacob
Vasco McCoy Family Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry and Environmental Engineering
Harvard University

Summary

Human exposure to mercury through fish consumption is a major public health issue. But where does this mercury come from, and to what extent is it affected by human activity? Answers to these questions require an investigation of the cycling of mercury between the different reservoirs of the Earth system, and of the fate of anthropogenic mercury emitted to the atmosphere by combustion and mining. The long lifetime of elemental mercury in the atmosphere allows mercury pollution to be transported worldwide, so that effective regulation will require a global environmental treaty. I will review current knowledge of these issues and present new research from my group at Harvard devoted to better understanding the global relationship between mercury emissions and ultimate health impacts.

Daniel Jacob