Abstract: Under the context of global warming, the environmental effects triggered by cryospheric changes have been a hot topic of global concern. The cryosphere on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are undergoing significant retreat, which can accelerate the release of accumulated pollutants stored in the cryosphere, and therefore impact on ecosystems and biological health adversely. Mercury (Hg) is recognized as a global pollutant. Great progress has been made in the knowledge of historical records, concentrations levels and spatiotemporal distribution of Hg in typical environmental components of the TP cryospheric region (e.g., glacier, permafrost soils, water bodies and atmosphere). However, there is a lack of knowledge on potentially important Hg output pathways in the cryospheric region as well as their environmental effects, including the downstream transport of Hg from glacier, the release of Hg stored in permafrost soils during permafrost thawing and land-air Hg exchange dynamics. Studies on Hg in the TP cryospheric regions not only enrich our understanding of Hg cycles in the cryosphere, but provide basic theoretical basis for assessing the potential environmental risks of Hg to the TP fragile ecosystems as well as the environmental effects caused by cryospheric changes.

Key words: Tibetan Plateau, cryosphere, mercury, environmental effect