Emily Chan
Huge quantities of silver are being buried beneath the South China Sea because of global warming. According to scientists, the same phenomenon could be happening in oceans across the world.
It is the first time that a link has been discovered between global warming and silver cycles in the ocean.
Since 1850, the amount of silver in marine sediments off the coast of Vietnam has seen a sharp increase.
This corresponds with the start of the Industrial Revolution, a period of transition characterized by widespread, highly efficient manufacturing practices. It was also when humans began releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere on a large scale.
The lead author of the study, Liqiang Xu, an associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at the Hefei University of Technology in China, stated that the discovery indicates global warming could also have impacts on other trace elements, including iron, zinc, and cobalt.
Small amounts of these elements are present in the environment and can serve as essential nutrients for life.
Silver originates on land and makes its way into the oceans mostly through the process of weathering, which is when rainwater wears down rocks and carries elements from them into rivers.
Due to heavy river inputs, atmospheric dust, hydrothermal vents, and human activity, some regions of the ocean contain more silver than others.
When silver is in its ionic form (Ag+), it is toxic to marine creatures. However, not much is known about how it affects broader ocean ecosystems. Xu and colleagues wanted to find out more about how silver interacts with marine environments.
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
