Volcano ‘pollution’ Solves Mercury Mystery
Sunday, June 29, 2008 - 08:21
in Earth & Climate
Scientists have discovered how volatile metals from volcanoes end up in polar ice cores. Researchers had suspected that mercury boils out of hot magma, the big surprise was just how much mercury escapes from volcanoes. Measurements made on just one part of the Masaya volcano in Nicaragua have shown that about 7 tons of natural volcanic mercury escapes into the atmosphere from this vent each year.