The element mercury has long held a fascination for people.
As the only metal that is liquid at room temperature, “quicksilver” was the star of medieval alchemy, and in recent times has been used in everything from thermometers to batteries, electrical switches, lightbulbs and dental fillings.
But this metal is also toxic, and thanks in part to widespread use by humans, a bio-accumulative compound containing mercury — called methylmercury — is found all over the globe in the atmosphere and water, with sometimes devastating effects on fish, humans and wildlife.
The good news is that natural processes in the environment convert some of this methylmercury back into its inorganic forms. But how and when? These are questions LSA Professor Joel D. Blum will discuss in his inaugural Distinguished University Professor lecture, “Mesmerized by Mercury: From History to Health.”
The talk will take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Rackham Amphitheatre. The lecture and ensuing reception are free and open to the public.
The Distinguished University Professorship is the highest professorial honor bestowed on U-M faculty. Blum was given the title Jerry Keeler Distinguished University Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences in 2015.
“I am deeply honored to be singled out from the truly outstanding faculty at U-M,” says Blum, who also is an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, John D. MacArthur Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences, professor of earth and environmental sciences, and of ecology and evolutionary biology. “There are many opportunities for recognition in one’s field outside the university, but it is particularly gratifying to be honored by the peers with whom you work on a daily basis.”
Blum is renowned for his research on the cycling of nutrients and toxic trace elements in the environment. He has developed methods to follow elements like mercury through complex biogeochemical cycles to uncover insights into how humans have transformed ecosystems. His lecture will touch on his findings on how to ascertain the sources, toxicity and reaction history of mercury in the environment.
“In 2007, my research group identified a phenomenon whereby magnetic isotopes of mercury react during photochemical reactions at different rates from non-magnetic isotopes,” Blum says. “Thus isotope ratios are proving to be a useful tool in teasing apart the complex biogeochemistry of this element.”
Recipients of the Distinguished University Professor title are asked to name their professorship after a former U-M faculty member of their choosing. Blum opted to honor Jerry Keeler, a former faculty member who died of cancer six years ago at the age of 51.
“I was inspired by Keeler’s groundbreaking environmental science research, and I benefitted from his expertise through our scientific collaborations,” Blum says. “I hoped that using his name in this professorship would in a small way help to perpetuate the memory of him on campus.”
Blum joined the U-M faculty in 1999 and, in addition to his work in Ann Arbor, also teaches each summer at the U-M Camp Davis Field Station in Wyoming.
Beyond his research on toxic heavy metals, he has helped to pinpoint the location in Mexico where an asteroid struck 65 million years ago leading to mass extinction of species; contributed to the understanding of how acid rain affects forest nutrient cycles; uncovered patterns of long-range songbird migration; and studied the interplay between mountain building and climate change.
His discoveries have been reported in more than 200 leading publications, including Science and Nature. He is also the inaugural editor in chief of the American Chemical Society journal Earth and Space Chemistry.
