This is a past event.

Noelle Selin
MIT Global Change Institute

Pollution is a major sustainability challenge: toxic substances that travel through the atmosphere and interact with the ocean and land can pose risks to humans and the environment at locations both near and far from their emission. This talk summarizes recent research on the biogeochemical cycling of mercury (Hg) and persistent organic pollutants (POPs), covering the entire pathway by which past, present, and future emissions of these toxics travel through the environment. I use global-scale atmospheric models and quantitative techniques to quantify the sources and sinks of pollutants, and identify pathways by which they travel globally (and especially to the Arctic). The importance of contaminants research in the context of policy-making will be discussed.