Global Observation System for Mercury

The Minamata Convention on Mercury was established to control mercury supply and trade, reduce the use, emission, and release of mercury, raise public awareness, and build the necessary institutional capacity. The proposed Flagship aims to: (1) enhance the availability and quality of Earth observation data and information to contribute to tracking mercury released into the global environment and, where appropriate, anticipating changes in the environment; (2) harmonize metadata production, archiving, and data sharing within the mercury network; and (3) develop advanced monitoring and reporting services in support of a policy mandate through the Minamata Convention.

GOS4M developed the GOS4M Knowledge Hub, which includes tools to discover and access available in situ mercury datasets, satellite observations used in regional- and global-scale chemical models, the online GDQM QA/QC system, the HERMES emulator for modeling outputs under different anthropogenic emission scenarios, and scientific references for the adopted methodology.

During the period, the activity will focus on improving the GOS4M Knowledge Hub to better support the activity of UNEP and the Minamata Convention Secretariat for monitoring and reporting purposes, with the aim of becoming the official tool in the context of the Conference of Parties. The platform is being upgraded to include a check-in service for Authentication and Authorization, incorporating a data license subscription. An improved data monitoring system will include meteorological parameters and an automatic reporting system, while AI modules for human language queries on the data will enhance the platform’s user experience. Capacity-building and interaction with regional monitoring networks will continue as a background activity, aiming to include larger datasets on mercury in the environment and biomonitoring data.

During the period, the activity will focus on improving the GOS4M Knowledge Hub to better support the activity of UNEP and the Minamata Convention Secretariat for monitoring and reporting purposes, with the aim of becoming the official tool in the context of the Conference of Parties. The platform is being upgraded to include a check-in service for Authentication and Authorization, incorporating a data license subscription. An improved data monitoring system will include meteorological parameters and an automatic reporting system, while AI modules for human language queries on the data will enhance the platform’s user experience. Capacity-building and interaction with regional monitoring networks will continue as a background activity, aiming to include larger datasets on mercury in the environment and biomonitoring data.