ABSTRACT
Mercury is toxic to human health, and the dominant exposure pathway is through atmospheric deposition. In the maritime continent, land-cover and land-use change and biomass burning contribute to mercury emissions in a coupled fashion. Burning of peat swamp forests is used to clear land and establish industrial plantations in this region. Peat swamp forest sequesters mercury and serves as a net sink of atmospheric mercury. Burning of the forests releases mercury to the atmosphere, and further exposure of forest soil converts these regions into a net source. Biomass burning is also modulated by the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, and biomass burning mercury emissions are enhanced during the El Niño years. On average, the maritime continent contributes to ~13% of the annual burden of biomass burning mercury emissions. During the El Niño and La Niña years, emissions change by a factor of ~1.5 and 0.27, respectively.
