"The change of seasons causes surface melting far inland from the coastal ice front," glaciologist Christopher Shuman said.

Though the mercury released from melting permafrost doesn’t pose a toxic threat today, its impact will grow over time. It gradually accumulates in the food chain with fish and wild animals ...

Melting permafrost in the Arctic is releasing toxic mercury into the water system, potentially impacting the food chain, scientists say. Arctic permafrost is melting at rapid rates, potentially ...

Permafrost covers about 25% of the exposed land surface in the Northern Hemisphere, crucial in locking away carbon and toxic metals like mercury.

For example, mercury is a liquid at room temperature. The metals in Group 1, such as lithium, sodium and potassium, are all soft. Many non-metals have low melting and boiling points. When non ...