# Trees in the Amazon are absorbing mercury pollution from small-scale gold mining, offering a new way to monitor illegal operations. Researchers say the toxic metal, released when miners burn mercury-gold mixtures, leaves a chemical fingerprint in tree rings. According to New Scientist, this method could reveal changes in mining activity over time. These operations are the world’s largest source of mercury emissions, posing serious health and environmental risks. Many of them remain unregulated and hidden deep in the rainforest.
Trees in Amazon capture mercury pollution from gold mining