Films (PARCS and CNRS MI Changing Siberia project):
- "Vodavos" ('porteur d'eau' en siberie) de Arnaud Mansat: Vodavos
- "Silent snow" by Jan van den Berg: Silent snow
- Indigenous Evenki analysis of the snow cover in the Siberian taiga, de A. Lavrillier Brisk
NEW findings from PARCS supported research showing that arctic tundra ecosystems sequester large amounts of atmospheric elemental mercury
In a study published in Nature on 12 July 2017 , Jeroen Sonke and Martin Jiskra from CNRS-GET in Toulouse, together with american colleagues, show that gaseous elemental atmospheric mercury may account for 71% of total mercury in tundra ecosystems. The Arctic is affected by large scale mercury pollution from anthropogenic activities but understanding about how it arrives in Arctic ecosystems is very uncertain. Based on analysis of mercury deposition and stable isotopes collected in Alaska over a 2-yr period, the authors are able to show that soil and plant uptake of of atmospheric elemental mercury, in particular during the summer plant growth season, is a significant source compared to mercury wet deposition or sea-salt induced chemical re-cycling. The mercury stored in tundra ecosystems and soils may explain why Arctic rivers transport large amounts of mercury into the Arctic Ocean each year.
For further information see: INSU and Nature
Contact: jeroen.sonke@get.omp.eu
Credit : Martin Jiskra (CNRS-GET)