JULY 28, 2017--OR&R’s Assessment and Restoration Division co-sponsored the 13th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant held July 16-21 in Providence, Rhode Island.

Plenary and session themes focused broadly on four topics, including:

• How is global mercury cycling changing in response to perturbations (e.g., climate change, emissions control)?
• How is mercury cycling (and bioaccumulation) changing in specific places in response to perturbations (e.g., climate change, remediation, nutrient control, urbanization)?
• What is the relative risk of mercury exposure to human health and wildlife in the context of other risks/stressors?
• How can scientific knowledge contribute to the implementation and effectiveness evaluation of the Minamata Convention?

Synthesis papers covering the four topics above will be published in Ambio. The conference is also facilitating Special Journal Issues on mercury related to the plenary themes in the American Chemical Society journal ACS Earth and Space Chemistry and the Royal Society of Chemistry journal Environmental Science: Processes and Impacts. The conference was attended by NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration and NOAA's Air Research Laboratory. This lab conducts model simulations of potential interest to OR&R on atmospheric transport, dispersion and deposition of pollutants and hazardous materials, including mercury, and contributes meteorological and mercury data to the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP). The program cooperatively monitors and studies atmospheric deposition at 250 National Trends Network sites, seven Atmospheric Integrated Research Monitoring Network sites, >100 Mercury Deposition Network sites, 21 Atmospheric Mercury Network sites, and about 50 Ammonia Monitoring Network sites. For further information, contact Lisa.Rosman@noaa.gov or Michel.Gielazyn@noaa.gov. Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.