Sea-Air Partitioning of Mercury in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean
Abstract
The partitioning of gaseous mercury between the atmosphere and surface waters was determined in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. The highest concentrations of dissolved gaseous mercury occurred in cooler, nutrient-rich waters that characterize equatorial upwelling and increased biological productivity at the sea surface. The surface waters were supersaturated with respect to elemental mercury; a significant flux of elemental mercury to the atmosphere is predicted for the equatorial Pacific. When normalized to primary production on a global basis, the ocean effluxes of mercury may rival anthropogenic emissions of mercury to the atmosphere.
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Published In
Science
Volume 231 | Issue 4742
7 March 1986
7 March 1986
Copyright
1986 by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Submission history
Received: 10 September 1985
Accepted: 30 December 1985
Published in print: 7 March 1986
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