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Sources, Sinks and Biogeochemical Cycling of Mercury in the Ocean

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Book cover Global and Regional Mercury Cycles: Sources, Fluxes and Mass Balances

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((ASEN2,volume 21))

Abstract

A review of the available information on the sources and sinks for oceanic mercury (Hg) illustrates the importance of the ocean in the global Hg cycle. The principal source of oceanic Hg is atmospheric deposition with riverine sources contributing about 10% of the total inputs. The primary loss term is gas evasion at the sea surface. Burial of Hg in ocean sediments is a minor sink (10% or less of the total flux). Mass balance estimates suggest that hydrothermal sources do not contribute significantly to the oceanic Hg pool. Overall, about 11 Mmol/yr is currently being added to (and lost from) the ocean reservoir. Much of this Hg is of anthropogenic origin. Mercury deposited to the ocean is effectively reduced, principally by biologically-mediated processes, to elemental Hg and this leads to a rapid recycling to the atmosphere of much of the deposited Hg. Reactive Hg is converted in deeper ocean waters to methylated Hg species. Methylated Hg species and elemental Hg are important components of the Hg pool and the interconversion between the different Hg forms determines, to a large extent, the fate and transport of Hg in deep ocean waters, and the extent of Hg accumulation in marine food chains.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, University of Maryland, Solomons, MD, 20688, USA

    R. P. Mason

  2. Dept of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Avery Point, Groton, CT, 06340, USA

    W. F. Fitzgerald

Authors
  1. R. P. Mason
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  2. W. F. Fitzgerald
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. of Analytical Chemistry, Free University of Brussels, Pleinlaan 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Willy Baeyens

  2. GKSS Forschungszentrum Geesthacht Gmbh, Max Planckstaβe 1, 21502, Geesthacht, Germany

    Ralf Ebinghaus

  3. Institute for Water and Environmental Problems, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, 105 Papaninsev Street, 65099, Barnaul, Russia

    Oleg Vasiliev

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© 1996 Kluwer Academic Publishers

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Mason, R.P., Fitzgerald, W.F. (1996). Sources, Sinks and Biogeochemical Cycling of Mercury in the Ocean. In: Baeyens, W., Ebinghaus, R., Vasiliev, O. (eds) Global and Regional Mercury Cycles: Sources, Fluxes and Mass Balances. NATO ASI Series, vol 21. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1780-4_12

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1780-4_12

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-7295-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-1780-4

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