Research summary
As the Arctic thaws and becomes easier to access, it is attracting more industrial development. While a certain amount of development could offer a much-needed economic boost for communities, these opportunities carry the risk of contaminating the Arctic’s vulnerable ecosystems. Not only can resource development and shipping introduce contaminants, but melting glaciers and sea ice can also release “legacy” contaminants.
As Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Chemistry, Dr. Feiyue Wang aims to support responsible and sustainable development in the Arctic by figuring out how to mitigate the risk of contaminants. He and his research team are quantifying melting glaciers as mercury sources in order to improve their projections of the Arctic marine ecosystem’s ability to recover from mercury contamination. They are also exploring how microplastics degrade over time and what impact they may have on the marine environment and working with Indigenous rights holders and other stakeholders to develop oil spill response techniques.