ArticleEnvironmental science & technology2025
Cumulative Anthropogenic Impacts of Past and Future Emissions and Releases on the Global Mercury Cycle.
Article in Environmental science & technology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
3 citing papers in PubMed.
- Glacier Melt as a Source of Mercury: Implications for Ecosystem Recovery and Environmental Trends.Environmental science & technology · 2026Article
- The Global Observation System for Mercury dataset for mercury stable isotope signatures in environmental media.Scientific data · 2026Article
- Temporal trends and spatial variations of total mercury in sediments of the legacy-contaminated river Elbe (Germany).Environmental monitoring and assessment · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Humans have intentionally mined and released mercury (Hg) from the Earth's lithosphere over millennia. Here, we synthesize past, present, and future anthropogenic Hg emissions and releases and use a global geochemical box model to characterize accumulation in the atmosphere, land, and ocean. We project an upper-bound for emissions and releases between 2010 and 2300 (Shared Socioeconomic Pathway (SSP)5-8.5; 1.7 Tg) that surpasses the historical total over the past half millennium (1.5 Tg). In contrast, the lower-bound for emissions and releases (SSP1-2.6; 0.7 Tg) is substantially smaller than the historical total. Observational constraints on global modeling suggest that most Hg released to land and water prior to 2010 remains sequestered at contaminated sites. Substantial oceanic enrichment by anthropogenic Hg (270% ca. 2010) has been driven mainly by atmospheric emissions. Cumulative future releases to land and water are projected to be approximately six-times greater than primary anthropogenic emissions to the atmosphere. This Hg is mainly sequestered in legacy Hg waste pools and is unlikely to impact Hg pollution in the global ocean unless it is mobilized by climate change. Modeling results suggest that by 2100 atmospheric Hg concentrations may be similar to present levels if society follows SSP5-8.5. Declines in the surface ocean (-19%) and atmosphere (-45%) are expected under SSP1-2.6, emphasizing the benefits of reductions in future Hg releases.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.