DIMETHYL MERCURY IN SEAWATER: A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF MONOMETHYL MERCURY IN FOG

Abstract:

Our collaborative studies show that maritime advective fog transports monomethyl mercury (MMHg) from the oceans to land where terrestrial biota accumulate this neurotoxin to high levels. To date the source of MMHg and the mechanism of this cycling remain unknown. We show that the rate of gaseous evasion of dimethyl mercury (DMHg) is fairly large. Vertical gradients of dimethyl mercury (DMHg) from cyclonic eddies in the California Current indicate an evasive loss of this compound of over 10 pmol m^-2 d^-1 from these and other upwelling systems. Previous experiments, however, indicated that the rate of photolytic demethylation of DMHg to MMHg is extremely slow in seawater. In this study we performed photodemethylation experiments in both natural seawater and seawater acidified to pH = 5 (the pH of fog). These results confirm the low rates of photodemethylation of DMHg previously observed, yet also show that photodemethylation is a significant factor in the demethylation of DMHg at low pH and thus a potential source of MMHg in fog. These findings suggest photodemethylation may occur atmospherically, and may explain both the high concentrations of MMHg found in fog, and the difference in concentrations of MMHg found in fog water vs rainwater.