Melting permafrost in Alaska is exposing high levels of mercury, which could pose a threat to Alaska Native people.
That’s according to a new study published earlier this month by the University of Southern California that analyzed melting deposits of permafrost along Alaska’s Yukon River.
Researchers already knew that Arctic permafrost was releasing mercury, but they didn’t know how much. A new study published in the journal Environmental Research Letters says the situation isn’t bad: As the river flows west, melting permafrost is depositing tons of mercury on its banks, confirming scientists’ worst-case estimates and highlighting the potential threat to the environment and indigenous peoples.
Mercury is a naturally occurring substance but can also be man-made. If ingested, this silvery metal can wreak havoc on the nervous system. Pregnant women and children are particularly at risk, which is one of the reasons why many governments have health limits on the types of fish that should be eaten during pregnancy.
Previously, researchers had thought that thawing permafrost could release a minimum of 40 kilograms of mercury per square kilometer, and a maximum of 150 kilograms, but this was a very large range that left room for uncertainty. The new study finds that the minimum is actually twice as much, ranging from about 86 kilograms per square kilometer to a maximum of 131 kilograms per square kilometer. And a method for sifting the soil to confirm this gives scientists more confidence in their assessment.
Josh West, a professor of geosciences and environmental studies at the University of Southern California and one of the study’s co-authors, said the impending mercury exposure is of great concern.
“There’s more mercury in permafrost than all other soils on Earth, all of the oceans, and more mercury in the atmosphere,” he said. “So there’s a huge amount of mercury in these permafrost areas where climate change is happening more rapidly than in other parts of the world.”
“It feels like a bomb going off,” he added.
The scientists analyzed sandbar and riverbank sediments near two villages in the northern part of the Yukon Village Basin, Beaver and Huslia. The research team included partners from USC and the university as well as the Yukon Inter-Tribal Watershed Council, an Indigenous non-profit organization representing dozens of First Nations and tribal nations committed to protecting the Yukon River basin.
West cautions that much about the situation is still unknown. Researchers are still investigating whether the released mercury is turning into methylmercury, a toxic substance that can cause brain damage if ingested. They’re also investigating whether permafrost is melting into the Yukon River, contaminating the fish that nearby residents, including First Nations, rely on. It’s unclear whether that’s happening, he stresses, and more data is needed.
But what we do know is that the Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet, and melting permafrost is already forcing some communities to relocate.
“Water is life for Alaska Native people, and thawing permafrost creates a lot of problems,” said Darcy Peter, a Koyukon and Gwich’in native from Beaver, Alaska, who works on climate adaptation for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. Woodwell Centre for Climate ResearchDecreasing salmon runs, partly due to warmer waters caused by climate change, are already an issue in the Yukon. Peter said his family hasn’t seen a salmon in years. “When we go fishing, the last thing we want to worry about is high mercury levels.”
Mercury poisoning among indigenous peoples is already a global problem.
In Canada, Indigenous peoples Mercury poisoning in fishIn 2016, pollution was linked to higher rates of attempted suicide among young people in the Grassy Narrows indigenous tribe. In the Amazon, the largest indigenous group, the Yanomami, suffer from high levels of mercury This is due to illegal gold mining taking place nearby, a problem so well documented that there is ongoing international support for greater indigenous people representation at the UN’s annual conference on mercury.
Unfortunately, Alaska is no exception. A 2022 study found that “Arctic Indigenous Peoples Among the most susceptible people Regarding food-borne mercury, He emphasized the importance of cooperation Conduct research in collaboration with indigenous peoples.
Mercury contamination not only causes health problems and impedes Indigenous fishing practices, it is another way that climate change threatens traditional cultural practices that Indigenous peoples have engaged in for thousands of years. This is a threat not only to their health and physical existence, but also to their cultural identity.
“In my hometown of Beaver, there are no grocery stores. We build our own cabins, haul our own water, and hunt our own food,” Peter says. “We feel it physically, emotionally, and economically, with the decline of salmon and the presence of mercury in the Yukon River.”
