The distribution and speciation of mercury in the South and equatorial Atlantic

Abstract

Mercury concentration and speciation were measured in surface and deep ocean waters of the South and equatorial Atlantic. In the surface waters, total Hg was 2.9±1.7 pM on average, with a significant fraction present as reactive Hg (1.7±1.2 pM). The reactive Hg fraction consisted of elemental Hg (Hg°) as the dominant species (1.2±0.8 pM). Measurements in surface waters also showed that Hg partitioned to the “colloidal” phase (0.33±0.28 pM) and was associated with particulate matter (0.1±0.05 pM). No dimethylmercury (DMHg;<0.01 pM) or monomethylmercury (MMHg; <0.05 pM) was detected in mixed layer samples. The highest DMHg concentrations were found in recently formed deep waters – Antarctic Intermediate Water and Antarctic Bottom Water and in the equatorial sub-thermocline region. Higher concentrations of DMHg coincided with higher values of apparent oxygen utilization, indicative of a link between microbial activity and methylated Hg production. The lowest-deep water DMHg concentrations were found in the core of the North Atlantic Deep Water. Incubation experiments on-board demonstrated that light enhanced the decomposition of DMHg, with MMHg as the major product. In deep waters, Hg° was still an important constituent and is likely formed as a decomposition product from MMHg. These results suggest that methylated Hg production occurs primarily in regions of high biological activity, and that ionic Hg is strongly complexed to organic matter (colloidal material) in open ocean surface waters.