Mercury in the Arctic

The Arctic receives a disproportionate amount of mercury deposition relative to emissions within the region. This is a result of long-range transport and enhanced deposition in the Arctic as a result of atmospheric mercury depletion events in early spring. As a result, some Arctic human populations receive high exposures to (methyl-)mercury.

To model atmospheric mercury transport and deposition to the Arctic, Steenhuisen is developing methods for spatially distributing mercury emission data. This is done in close corporation with the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP) and UNEP.