Articles | Volume 15, issue 21
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6451-2018
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-6451-2018
Research article
 | 
02 Nov 2018
Research article |  | 02 Nov 2018

Dynamic mercury methylation and demethylation in oligotrophic marine water

Kathleen M. Munson, Carl H. Lamborg, Rene M. Boiteau, and Mak A. Saito

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Cited articles

Black, F. J., Conaway, C. H., and Flegal, A. R.: Stability of dimethylmercury in seawater and its conversion to monomethyl mercury, Environ. Sci. Technol., 43, 4056–4062, https://doi.org/10.1021/es9001218, 2009. 
Bowman, K. L., Hammerschmidt, C. R., Lamborg, C. L., and Swarr, G.: Mercury in the North Atlantic Ocean: the US GEOTRACES zonal and meridional sections, Deep Sea Res., 116, 251–261, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.07.004,116, 2015. 
Bowman, K. L., Hammerschmidt, C. R., Lamborg, C. L., Swarr, G. J., and Agathar, A. M.: Distribution of mercury species across a zonal section of the eastern tropical South Pacific Ocean (US GEOTRACES GP16), Mar. Chem., 186, 156–166, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marchem.2016.09.005, 2016. 
Celo, V., Lean, D. R. S., and Scott, S. L.: Abiotic methylation of mercury in the aquatic environment, Sci. Total Environ., 368, 126–137, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2005.09.043, 2006. 
Cossa, D., Averty, B., and Pirrone, N.: The origin of methylmercury in open Mediterranean waters, Limnol. Oceanogr., 54, 837–844, https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2009.54.3.0837, 2009. 
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Short summary
Methylmercury accumulates in marine organisms and is produced by bacterial processes in sediment systems. To date, the contribution of these processes to the marine water column is poorly understood. We measured noncellular production and breakdown of methylmercury in equatorial Pacific waters. We observed enhanced production in filtered waters that suggests noncellular processes result in rapid mercury transformations and, in turn, control methylmercury concentrations in the open ocean.
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