Mercury in paleoarchives as a proxy of environmental and climate changes

Abstract

The paper presents a case study of mercury in two types of paleoarchives: ice cores and prehistoric animal hair, to assess the potential of Hg using as a proxy for environmental and climate changes. Belukha ice core is well-suitable for reconstruction short-term and long-term Hg deposition, recording global and regional, natural and anthropogenic emissions as well as regional climate changes during 320 years. Hg concentrations in hair of mammoth fauna mammals reflect the variation in Hg level in the environment during period from 45 to 10 ka yr BP. Hg concentrations changes following climatic changes are in a good agreement with other paleoarchive data (Hg fluxes of the EPICA Dome C ice core and Lake Baikal sediments).