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A consolidated database of mercury observations for permafrost regions
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DOI：10.5194/essd-18-4509-2026.png)
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Abstract
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Abstract. Soils across permafrost regions are one of the largest terrestrial pools of mercury (Hg) in the world; storing an estimated 500–1500 Gg of Hg in the top three meters of soil. Ongoing climate-driven thaw threatens to release this legacy Hg into the environment. Efforts to quantify and model this pool have been hindered by a lack of harmonized; spatially resolved observations. To address this; we compiled a database of 117; 802 Hg observations collected between 1988 and 2022 from 59 studies across Arctic; sub-Arctic; and alpine permafrost regions of the Northern Hemisphere; including North America; northern Europe; Eurasia and the Tibetan Plateau. The database includes Hg concentration measurements in solid materials – such as soil; leaves; roots; and wood – as well as in water samples from soil porewater; lakes; and rivers across the northern hemisphere permafrost domain. The database enables cross-site synthesis; model calibration and evaluation; and environmental assessments by standardizing and harmonizing data from diverse sources. Data standardization included unit conversion; categorization of observations by type; and quality-control procedures to ensure consistency across studies. Analytical uncertainty was preserved where reported in source studies; and quality control indicators – including range and outlier flags – were applied to support data screening and interpretation. Mercury concentrations vary widely across observations; with lake sediment showing the highest median values (70 ng g−1; IQR: 45–116); followed by soil (50 ng g−1; IQR: 32-90); and vegetation (15 ng g−1; IQR: 9–33). Water observations (total Hg) had a median of 2 ng L−1 (IQR: 2–6). Statistically significant differences in Hg concentrations among observation types were observed at both global and regional scales; generally following the pattern: lake sediment > soil > vegetation; although this ordering is sensitive to regional sampling distribution. These patterns; along with spatial and observation-type biases; highlight the need for improved coverage in underrepresented regions such as Eurasia. The database is freely accessible through Zenodo under the concept https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18300989 (all versions; Olson et al.; 2026a); to support ongoing research and model development in Arctic and sub-Arctic Hg cycle studies.
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