University of Manitoba PhD Graduate Brock Edwards Awarded the 2025 Distinguished Dissertation Award for Research on Mercury Emissions
Dr. Brock Edwards, a recent PhD graduate from the University of Manitoba’s Department of Environment and Geography, is a 2025 Distinguished Dissertation Award winner for his groundbreaking research on mercury emissions from volcanic activity in Iceland. His dissertation, Mercury Emissions from Icelandic Volcanism, offers new insights into how volcanoes contribute to the global mercury cycle.
Dr. Edwards’ field research focused on measuring mercury emissions from volcanoes and geothermal vents in Iceland. To do this, he conducted field studies over four seasons using various sampling methods. Although volcanoes are known to be the largest natural source of mercury to surface environments, their role in the global mercury cycle has been not well understood by the scientific community.
Dr. Edwards’ work is a significant step forward in the study of volcanic mercury emissions, which have an important impact on ecosystems and human health. The literature review portion of his dissertation shows that many volcanoes that emit large volumes of magmatic gases have not been studied for mercury emissions. ”These are our ‘known unknowns’,” Edwards said. “Once we have some measurements of these potentially important mercury sources, it will make things a lot clearer in terms of the total mercury release from Earth’s volcanism.”
The results of Dr. Edwards’ fieldwork show that while geothermal activity in Iceland can release high levels of mercury into the local air and soil, its contributions to the global atmospheric mercury pool are very small. Studies of air, soil, and water across Iceland also suggest that the country overall has low mercury levels, likely because the volcanic activity there comes from a mantle source that contains little mercury.
The University of Manitoba and Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies congratulate Brock on his outstanding achievement and looks forward to the lasting impact of his research in environmental science.
Dr. Kelley Main, Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, expressed her congratulations to Brock “On behalf of the entire Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, I am thrilled to congratulate Brock Edwards on receiving the 2025 Distinguished Dissertation Award. His research on mercury emissions from Icelandic volcanism has significant global implications. His work exemplifies the excellence in research that we strive to support here at the UM.”
About the Distinguished Dissertation Award
The University of Manitoba’s Distinguished Dissertation Award is given annually to a graduate student who has made significant contributions to their field of study through innovative research. The award recognizes dissertations that advance knowledge and scholarship in meaningful ways.