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Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant with substantial human health impacts. While most studies focus on atmospheric total Hg (THg) deposition, contributions of methylated Hg (MeHg), including monomethylmercury (MMHg) and dimethylmercury (DMHg), remain poorly understood. To examine this, we use rain and aerosol Hg speciation data and high-resolution surface DMHg measurements, collected on a transect from Alaskan coastal waters to the Bering and Chukchi Seas. We observed a significant fivefold increase in the MeHg:THg fraction in rain and a 10-fold increase for aerosols, closely linked to elevated surface DMHg and the highest DMHg evasion (~9.4 picomoles per square meter per hour) found in upwelling waters near the Aleutian Islands. These data highlight a previously underexplored aspect of MeHg air-sea exchange and its importance to Hg cycling and human health concerns. Our findings emphasize the importance of DMHg evasion by demonstrating that atmospheric MeHg can be transported long distances (~1700 kilometers) in the Arctic, posing risks to human health and ecosystems.
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Radon-222 and Radium-226 seawater and ice data from Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea 2021
Mercury (Hg) concentrations and speciation within surface waters of the Arctic Ocean are controlled by a complex set of processes including photochemical and microbial transformations, redox reactions, and air-sea exchange of gaseous and particulate Hg species. In this study, our aim was to estimate the magnitude of volatile Hg fluxes across the air-sea interface, and examine the influence of ice cover on this process. While gas exchange in the open ocean has been modeled as a function of wind speed, the parameterization is problematic in the presence of sea ice, which can physically block gas exchange, as well as reduce fetch and dampen waves. By using measurements of Radon-222 (Rn-222) gas and it parent isotope, Radium-226 (Ra-226), to accurately measure gas exchange velocities (k), the relative impacts of chemical and biological processes on mercury distributions within the surface waters can then be deduced. This dataset contains Radon-222 and Radium-226 activity concentrations from R/V Sikuliaq cruise SKQ202108S in the Bering Sea, through the Bering Strait, and in shelf waters of the Chukchi Sea during May – June 2021. Samples include seawater (16 water column profiles), as well as ice cores and brine from four ice stations. At the time of the cruise, sampling locations in the Bering Sea were ice free and gas transfer velocities (k) estimated from Rn-222 deficits (with respect to Ra-226 concentrations) were in general agreement with published parameterizations of k as a function of wind speed. The springtime retreating ice edge was located at 69-70 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea, and sampling locations there were located along the ice edge, in areas of open water, and at sites within the pack ice up to ~10 kilometers (km) from the ice edge. Gas transfer velocities in the marginal ice zone also reflected recent wind histories, with k values generally at the high end of or exceeding those predicted from the wind speed parameterizations.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1854462
- PAR ID:
- 10499517
- Publisher / Repository:
- Arctic Data Center
- Date Published:
- Subject(s) / Keyword(s):
- Radon-222 Radium-226 Bering Sea Chukchi Sea marginal ice zone mercury gas transfer velocity piston velocity air-sea gas exchange
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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