Greenland Sharks Are Soaking Up Pollutants
The Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), measuring up to 23 feet (seven meters) long and capable of living for over 400 years, lives in the North Atlantic like a living time capsule, having seen centuries of change from the early days of industrialization to today’s warming Arctic.
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Now a new study from Kulusuk, a small island in southeastern Greenland, offers a look at how pollutants have seeped into the farthest corners of the planet and into the tissues one of its most mysterious predator.
A team of researchers analyzed tissue samples from two Greenland sharks, a male and a female, collected during a diving expedition in 2024.
Using a highly sensitive technique called Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, also known as ICP-MS, they examined 11 trace elements.
The findings were striking: the sharks’ skin contained the highest concentrations of pollutants, including arsenic and zinc, suggesting that direct environmental exposure through seawater may be more significant than previously thought.