Mercury in the Faroe Islands - A review of avaiable data - Kyksilvur í Føroyum - ein gjøgnumgongd av tøkum dátum

Abstract

Úrtak
Rættiliga stórt kyksilvurmagn er funnið í nøkrum føroyskum sýnum tikin av kræklingi, mógv, mold og bleikju, um borið verður saman við sýni tikin í grannalondunum. Hinvegin vísa evropisku mosakanningarnar, sum Føroyar hava luttikið í síðan 1996, at kyksilvurmagnið f mosaslagnum Hylocomium splendens sum heild í Føroyum er minni enn í Svøríki, Noregi og Danmørk. Ein ábending, sum eisini samsvarar væl við myndilsúrslitini, ið vísa, at kyksilvurupptøkan úr luft og avfalli í Føroyum yvirhøvur er tveir valdar lægri enn í Danmørk (Christensen, 2003). Kyksilvurið kemur til Føroya langvegis frá, og nøgdimar eru lítlar ella á leið sum tær í eitt nú skandinaviskum londum. Tað stendur tó eftir at lýsa, hví so er og hví nøgdirnar eru so stórar í ávísum sýnum. 

Abstract 
Elevated mercury concentrations in some matrices have been found in Faroese samples as compared to samples from neighbour countries/waters. These matrices are blue mussels, peat and soil, and even Arctic char. These results indicate that there are elevated concentrations of mercury in the Faroes. On the other hand, the European moss survey in which the Faroe Islands have participated since 1996, indicate that the mercury concentrations in Hylocomium s. is overall lower in the Faroes than in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. An indication, which also fits well with the model results that deposition of mercury in air/precipitation in the Faroes is generally lower by a factor of two than in Denmark (Christensen, 2003). Thus, the question apparently is limited to one of describing how the amount of mercury that is transported to the Faroe by long-range transport, in amounts that are low or comparable to the one to for examples Scandinavian countries, do become so concentrated in some compartments.