User:Windyor/sandbox

Evaluating content
Mercury cycle page is of interest to WikiProject Ecology, WikiProject Element, and WikiProject Soil. The article is more focused with mercury's toxicity and regulations, and needs more information about the cycle itself. In addition, while anthropogenic sources of mercury is covered with detailed statistics, the natural sources section is comparatively short and not in depth. A sub-section under regulation is left with no description, so it needs to be updated or removed. Since toxicity and regulations regarding mercury is already covered in Mercury (element), removal of those sections in mercury cycle page needs to be considered, so the cycle itself can be more focused. More information regarding natural sources and sinks from peer-reviewed papers will need to be covered in this page.

Evaluating tone
The article is kept neutral, with no bias towards one side or another. About a half of the article is about statistics, rules, and regulations regarding mercury, so they are mostly written informatively.

Evaluating sources
There are decent amount of source cited in this page, and most of the links worked properly. However, there were less peer-reviewed papers than the page should have. Numerous sources are governmental, and there is one reference from a magazine. Additional peer-reviewed papers would make this page more scientific, intellectual, and neutral.

Evaluating talk page
Talk page for the mercury cycle has been relatively inactive for the past few years. Actual comments from Wiki users were all made in 2011, and no additional comments were made since then. A user was asking about the necessity of the page, which makes it inevitable for this page to be updated with more accurate and scientific information. There was an external link modification added in the talk page in 2018, but it was done by a bot.

References to be used: Mercury cycle

 * 1) Bagnato, E., Aiuppa, A., Parello, F., Allard, P., Shinohara, H., Liuzzo, M., & Giudice, G. (2011). "New clues on the contribution of Earth’s volcanism to the global mercury cycle". Bulletin of Volcanology. 73(5): 497-510. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00445-010-0419-y
 * 2) Boening, D. W. (2000). "Ecological effects, transport, and fate of mercury: a general review". Chemosphere. 40(12): 1335-1351. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0045-6535(99)00283-0
 * 3) Brosset, C. (1981). "The mercury cycle". Water, Air, and Soil Pollution. 16(2): 253-255. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01046859
 * 4) Driscoll, C. T., Yan, C., Schofield, C. L., Munson, R., & Holsapple, J. (1994). "The mercury cycle and fish in the Adirondack lakes". Environmental Science & Technology. 28(3): 136A-143A. https://doi.org/10.1021/es00052a003
 * 5) Gavis, J., & Ferguson, J. F. (1972). "The cycling of mercury through the environment". Water Research. 6(9): 989-1008. https://doi.org/10.1016/0043-1354(72)90053-x
 * 6) Gustin, M. S., & Lindberg, S. E. (2000). "Assessing the contribution of natural sources to the global mercury cycle: The importance of intercomparing dynamic flux measurements". Fresenius' Journal of Analytical Chemistry. 366(5): 417-422. https://doi.org/10.1007/s002160050085
 * 7) Jaffe, D., & Strode, S. (2008). "Sources, fate and transport of atmospheric mercury from Asia". Environmental Chemistry. 5(2): 121-126. https://doi.org/10.1071/en08010
 * 8) Mason, R. P. (2009). Mercury Fate and Transport in the Global Atmosphere: Emissions, Measurements and Models. Boston, MA: Springer US. ISBN 978-0-387-93958-2 . https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93958-2_7
 * 9) Mason, R. P., Fitzgerald, W. F., & Morel, F. M. M. (1994). "The biogeochemical cycling of elemental mercury: Anthropogenic influences". Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta. 58(15): 3191-3198. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(94)90046-9
 * 10) Mason, R. P., Laurier, F. J. G., Whalin, L., & Sheu, G. R. (2003). "The role of ocean-atmosphere exchange in the global mercury cycle". Journal de Physique IV (Proceedings). 107: 835-838. https://doi.org/10.1051/jp4:20030428
 * 11) Mason, R. P., & Sheu, G. R. (2002). "Role of the ocean in the global mercury cycle". Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 16(4): 40-41-40-14. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001gb001440
 * 12) Morel, F. M. M., Kraepiel, A. M. L., & Amyot, M. (1998). "The chemical cycle and bioaccumulation of mercury". Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics. 29(1): 543-566. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.29.1.543
 * 13) Pyle, D. M., & Mather, T. A. (2003). "The importance of volcanic emissions for the global atmospheric mercury cycle". Atmospheric Environment. 37(36): 5115-5124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2003.07.011
 * 14) Selin, N. E. (2009). "Global Biogeochemical Cycling of Mercury: A Review". Annual Review of Environment and Resource. 34(1), 43-63. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.environ.051308.084314
 * 15) Strode, S. A., Jaeglé, L., Selin, N. E., Jacob, D. J., Park, R. J., Yantosca, R. M., . . . Slemr, F. (2007). "Air-sea exchange in the global mercury cycle". Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1029/2006GB002766

Mercury cycle (draft)
The mercury cycle is a biogeochemical cycle influenced by natural and anthropogenic processes that transform mercury through multiple chemical forms and environments.

Processes
Mercury is transported and distributed by atmospheric circulation, which moves elemental mercury from natural sources on land to the ocean. Elemental mercury in the atmosphere is returned to the Earth's surface by several routes. Some elemental mercury is oxidized to mercury(II), and returned to the Earth's surface by wet deposition. Since oxidation of elemental mercury is very slow, elemental mercury can spread over the entire globe before being oxidized and deposited. Wet and dry deposition is responsible for 90% of the mercury in the ocean. A fraction of deposited mercury instantaneously re-volatilize back to the atmosphere.

Natural sources
Natural sources are responsible for approximately half of atmospheric mercury emissions. However, mercury emissions from natural sources are not understood as precisely as those from anthropogenic sources. Annually, over 5000 Mg of mercury is released to the atmosphere by natural sources, which include both primary emissions and secondary re-emissions. Active volcanoes are one of the significant and primary sources of atmospheric mercury. Studies from naturally mercury-enriched areas suggest that other primary sources, such as geothermal activities, metal deposits, and organic-rich sedimentary rocks, also contribute to the regional mercury budget. Secondary natural sources, which are re-emitting previously deposited mercury, include vegetation and biomass burning.

On average, volcanic and geothermal activities release about 90 Mg of mercury to atmosphere per year, which is about 2% of the total contribution of mercury from natural processes. Top contributors of mercury from natural sources are ocean basins and lakes, which account for about 2778 Mg of gaseous mercury evasion to the atmosphere per year. Based on a recent study, global mercury emission from biomass burning is estimated to be about 675 Mg per year (calculated annual average for the period of 1997 - 2006).