Anthropogenic mercury (Hg) emissions to the atmosphere have increased the concentration of this potent neurotoxin in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. The magnitude of regional variation in atmospheric Hg pollution levels raises questions about the interactions between natural processes and human activities at local and regional scales that are shaping global atmospheric Hg cycling. Peatlands are potentially valuable and widespread records of past atmospheric Hg levels that could help address these questions. This perspective aims to improve the utility of peatlands as authentic Hg archives by summarizing the processes that could affect Hg cycling in peatlands. We identify the overlooked role of peat vegetation species and their primary productivity in Hg sequestration under climatic and anthropogenic activities. We provide recommendations to improve the reliability of using peat cores to reconstruct the atmospheric Hg levels from past decades to millennia. Better information from peatland archives on regional variation in atmospheric Hg levels will be of value for testing hypotheses about the processes controlling global Hg cycling. This information can also contribute to evaluating how well international efforts under the UNEP Minamata Convention are succeeding in reducing atmospheric Hg levels and deposition in different regions.

中文翻译：

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利用泥炭记录重建过去大气中汞水平的观点


人为排放到大气中的汞 （Hg） 增加了陆地和水生生态系统中这种强效神经毒素的浓度。大气中汞污染水平的区域差异幅度引发了人们对自然过程与地方和区域尺度上人类活动之间相互作用的问题，这些相互作用正在影响全球大气汞循环。泥炭地是过去大气中汞含量的潜在宝贵和广泛记录，可以帮助解决这些问题。本观点旨在通过总结可能影响泥炭地汞循环的过程，提高泥炭地作为真实汞档案的效用。我们确定了泥炭植被物种及其在气候和人为活动下汞封存中被忽视的作用及其主要生产力。我们提出了一些建议，以提高使用泥炭岩芯重建过去几十年到数千年大气中汞水平的可靠性。泥炭地档案中关于大气中汞水平区域变化的更好信息，将有助于检验有关控制全球汞循环过程的假设。这些信息还有助于评估环境署《水俣公约》下的国际努力在降低不同地区大气中汞含量和沉积方面的成功程度。