Collaborative Research: MEGA - Mercury biogeochemical cycling and export from Greenland to the Arctic

合作研究：MEGA - 汞生物地球化学循环以及从格陵兰岛到北极的出口

• 批准号: 2232980
• 负责人: Jon Hawkings
• 金额: $ 67.03万
• 依托单位: University of Pennsylvania
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2023-05-01 至 2026-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2232980&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; MEGA; Mercury; biogeochemical

Mercury is a toxic element that is of concern for the health of the environment and humans. There are particularly high amounts of mercury in Arctic food webs due to the transport of mercury in the atmosphere to the Arctic, primarily from mining and industrial regions. The main source of mercury to the Arctic is thought to be human emissions to the atmosphere (for example, from processing of material in gold mining and fossil fuel burning), but there may also be large natural sources of mercury that could change with climate warming. Glaciers and ice sheets, large rivers of ice, have recently been identified in Greenland as possible sources of mercury to the Arctic through glacier physical grinding (as they bulldoze their way through the landscape) and melt, but data is still sparse and these existing datasets highlight significant uncertainty. In the MEGA project, the investigators will sample (i) a range of glacial meltwater rivers across Greenland, (ii) the oceans these meltwaters flow into, and (iii) the air next to the water sampling sites, to understand whether these natural mercury inputs are important and/or are likely to change with increased glacier melting in a warming climate. This new data will improve our knowledge of the importance of glaciers and ice sheets in the Earth System, and provide critical process information using modern measurement techniques. The MEGA project will ultimately help us understand how mercury moves and changes through Arctic systems. MEGA will support two PhD students, several undergraduates, and a number of early career scientific researchers. It will establish an international collaboration between US, Danish, German, Czech and Greenlandic researchers, and provide unique opportunities for teachers from under resourced high schools in West Philadelphia to participate in Arctic research.Mercury is a toxic element that accumulates and magnifies in food webs, making it of particular concern to human populations. Concentrations of mercury in the Arctic region are of particular concern for policymakers because they are high in Arctic marine organisms. This is important for Arctic communities that rely on fishing and hunting for significant proportions of their diet. The major source of mercury to the Arctic is atmospheric deposition of anthropogenic mercury from lower latitudes (for example, from artisanal gold mining and fossil fuel burning), transported to the polar regions by prevailing atmospheric circulation. More recently, natural sources of mercury, such as from permafrost melting, have received attention as potentially important components of the Arctic mercury cycle that could change in a warming climate. However, large gaps in scientific knowledge surround these climatically sensitive but potentially significant natural sources of mercury, particularly glaciers and ice sheets. The Greenland Ice Sheet is by far the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere, covering over 20% of the land surface in the Arctic. Recent research suggests the ice sheet may be an important source of mercury to surrounding ocean ecosystems, but the data is limited and additional research is needed. The MEGA project will produce the first complete model of mercury mobilization, movement and transformations from source (ice) to sink (ocean). The investigators will develop a robust numerical budget for mercury in Greenland by sampling (i) meltwater rivers flowing from the ice sheet, (ii) the coastal areas these rivers enter, and (iii) the atmosphere from where mercury can be deposited/transported. MEGA will use innovative methodological techniques like the chemical fingerprint of the mercury (e.g., mercury isotope ratios) to provide information that contextualizes the importance of the Greenland Ice Sheet processes in the Arctic mercury cycle. The MEGA project will support a diverse range of researchers, including undergraduate students, two graduate students, an early career postdoctoral researcher, and four early career faculty. The project will also develop collaborations, networking and capacity building between US researchers/institutions and researchers/institutions from Greenland, Denmark, the Czech Republic and Germany. MEGA will also embed two K-12 educators from Philadelphia in fieldwork to cultivate interests in STEM, Arctic research, and Earth systems science, helping inspire their teaching curriculum and their students.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

汞是一种有毒元素，关系到环境和人类的健康。由于大气中的汞主要从采矿和工业区输送到北极，北极食物网中的汞含量特别高。北极的汞主要来源被认为是人类排放到大气中的排放（例如金矿开采和化石燃料燃烧中的材料加工），但也可能存在大量汞的自然来源，这些来源可能会随着气候变暖而发生变化。最近，格陵兰岛的冰川和冰盖、大型冰河被确定为通过冰川物理研磨（当它们推土机穿过地形时）和融化而进入北极的汞的可能来源，但数据仍然很少，这些现有数据集突出显着的不确定性。在 MEGA 项目中，研究人员将对（i）横跨格陵兰岛的一系列冰川融水河流、（ii）这些融水流入的海洋以及（iii）水采样点附近的空气进行采样，以了解这些天然汞是否投入很重要，并且/或可能会随着气候变暖而冰川融化的加剧而发生变化。这些新数据将提高我们对地球系统中冰川和冰原重要性的认识，并利用现代测量技术提供关键的过程信息。 MEGA 项目最终将帮助我们了解汞如何在北极系统中移动和变化。 MEGA 将支持两名博士生、几名本科生和一些早期职业科学研究人员。它将在美国、丹麦、德国、捷克和格陵兰研究人员之间建立国际合作，并为西费城资源匮乏的高中教师提供参与北极研究的独特机会。 汞是一种有毒元素，会在食物网中积累和放大，使其受到人类的特别关注。政策制定者特别关注北极地区的汞浓度，因为北极海洋生物中的汞浓度很高。这对于大部分饮食依赖捕鱼和狩猎的北极社区来说非常重要。北极汞的主要来源是来自低纬度地区的人为汞的大气沉积（例如，来自手工采金和化石燃料燃烧），并通过盛行的大气环流输送到极地地区。最近，汞的天然来源，例如来自永久冻土融化的汞，作为北极汞循环的潜在重要组成部分而受到关注，北极汞循环可能会随着气候变暖而发生变化。然而，围绕这些气候敏感但潜在重要的汞天然来源，特别是冰川和冰盖，科学知识存在巨大差距。格陵兰冰盖是迄今为止北半球最大的冰块，覆盖了北极20%以上的陆地表面。最近的研究表明，冰盖可能是周围海洋生态系统汞的重要来源，但数据有限，需要进行更多研究。 MEGA 项目将产生第一个完整的汞从源（冰）到汇（海洋）的动员、移动和转化模型。研究人员将通过采样（i）从冰盖流出的融水河流，（ii）这些河流进入的沿海地区，以及（iii）可以沉积/运输汞的大气来制定格陵兰岛汞的可靠数字预算。 MEGA 将使用汞的化学指纹（例如汞同位素比）等创新方法技术来提供信息，说明格陵兰冰盖过程在北极汞循环中的重要性。 MEGA 项目将支持各类研究人员，包括本科生、两名研究生、一名早期职业博士后研究员和四名早期职业教师。该项目还将促进美国研究人员/机构与格陵兰岛、丹麦、捷克共和国和德国的研究人员/机构之间的合作、网络和能力建设。 MEGA 还将让两名来自费城的 K-12 教育工作者参与实地考察，以培养对 STEM、北极研究和地球系统科学的兴趣，帮助激发他们的教学课程和学生的兴趣。该奖项反映了 NSF 的法定使命，并被认为值得通过以下方式获得支持：使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估。