Dissolved silver measurements in seawater

Abstract

There is a paucity of data on dissolved silver in the world’s oceans and almost no data for European marine waters. The available data indicate that silver co-varies with silicate in oceanic environments, suggesting a link to biological processes. Nevertheless, silver is a highly toxic element. The main sources of silver for the marine environment derive from anthropogenic inputs, so silver can be used as a tracer for inputs of domestic and industrial pollution. Typical concentrations in seawater samples are very low (pmol/L). These low concentrations, combined with the complexity of the seawater-sample matrix, make the determination of silver in these samples extremely challenging. Developments in sensitive sector field inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (SF-ICP-MS) instruments, combined with effective approaches for removal of the seawater matrix, have resulted in powerful analytical methods that can be used to overcome these challenges and help to improve our knowledge on the distribution, effect and fate of silver in the marine environment. This article briefly reviews the analytical techniques used for silver determination in seawater, and describes new trends in analyzing dissolved silver in seawater.