Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic
Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of major concern in Arctic marine ecosystems. Decades of Hg observations in marine biota from across the Canadian Arctic show generally higher concentrations in the west than in the east. Various hypotheses have attributed this longitudinal biotic Hg gradient to regiona...
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ftunivmanitoba:oai:mspace.lib.umanitoba.ca:1993/34764 2023-06-18T03:38:30+02:00 Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic Wang, Kang Munson, Kathleen M. Beaupré-Laperrière, Alexis Mucci, Alfonso Macdonald, Robie W. Wang, Feiyue 2020-07-09T21:10:42Z application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1993/34764 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 eng eng Nature Wang, K., Munson, K., Beaupré-Laperrière, A., Mucci, A. Macdonald, R.W., & F. Wang. Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic. Sci Rep 8, 14465 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 http://hdl.handle.net/1993/34764 doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 open access methylmercury Arctic mercury marine ecosystem biomagnification Technical Report 2020 ftunivmanitoba https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 2023-06-04T17:40:38Z Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of major concern in Arctic marine ecosystems. Decades of Hg observations in marine biota from across the Canadian Arctic show generally higher concentrations in the west than in the east. Various hypotheses have attributed this longitudinal biotic Hg gradient to regional differences in atmospheric or terrestrial inputs of inorganic Hg, but it is methylmercury (MeHg) that accumulates and biomagnifies in marine biota. Here, we present high-resolution vertical profiles of total Hg and MeHg in seawater along a transect from the Canada Basin, across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and Baffin Bay, and into the Labrador Sea. Total Hg concentrations are lower in the western Arctic, opposing the biotic Hg distributions. In contrast, MeHg exhibits a distinctive subsurface maximum at shallow depths of 100–300m, with its peak concentration decreasing eastwards. As this subsurface MeHg maximum lies within the habitat of zooplankton and other lower trophic-level biota, biological uptake of subsurface MeHg and subsequent biomagnification readily explains the biotic Hg concentration gradient. Understanding the risk of MeHg to the Arctic marine ecosystem and Indigenous Peoples will thus require an elucidation of the processes that generate and maintain this subsurface MeHg maximum. Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, ArcticNet, the Canadian Arctic GEOTRACES program, and the Canada Research Chairs Program. Report Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic ArcticNet Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin canada basin Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Sea Zooplankton MSpace at the University of Manitoba Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Canadian Arctic Archipelago Scientific Reports 8 1 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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MSpace at the University of Manitoba |
op_collection_id |
ftunivmanitoba |
language |
English |
topic |
methylmercury Arctic mercury marine ecosystem biomagnification |
spellingShingle |
methylmercury Arctic mercury marine ecosystem biomagnification Wang, Kang Munson, Kathleen M. Beaupré-Laperrière, Alexis Mucci, Alfonso Macdonald, Robie W. Wang, Feiyue Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic |
topic_facet |
methylmercury Arctic mercury marine ecosystem biomagnification |
description |
Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of major concern in Arctic marine ecosystems. Decades of Hg observations in marine biota from across the Canadian Arctic show generally higher concentrations in the west than in the east. Various hypotheses have attributed this longitudinal biotic Hg gradient to regional differences in atmospheric or terrestrial inputs of inorganic Hg, but it is methylmercury (MeHg) that accumulates and biomagnifies in marine biota. Here, we present high-resolution vertical profiles of total Hg and MeHg in seawater along a transect from the Canada Basin, across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) and Baffin Bay, and into the Labrador Sea. Total Hg concentrations are lower in the western Arctic, opposing the biotic Hg distributions. In contrast, MeHg exhibits a distinctive subsurface maximum at shallow depths of 100–300m, with its peak concentration decreasing eastwards. As this subsurface MeHg maximum lies within the habitat of zooplankton and other lower trophic-level biota, biological uptake of subsurface MeHg and subsequent biomagnification readily explains the biotic Hg concentration gradient. Understanding the risk of MeHg to the Arctic marine ecosystem and Indigenous Peoples will thus require an elucidation of the processes that generate and maintain this subsurface MeHg maximum. Natural Science and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, ArcticNet, the Canadian Arctic GEOTRACES program, and the Canada Research Chairs Program. |
format |
Report |
author |
Wang, Kang Munson, Kathleen M. Beaupré-Laperrière, Alexis Mucci, Alfonso Macdonald, Robie W. Wang, Feiyue |
author_facet |
Wang, Kang Munson, Kathleen M. Beaupré-Laperrière, Alexis Mucci, Alfonso Macdonald, Robie W. Wang, Feiyue |
author_sort |
Wang, Kang |
title |
Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic |
title_short |
Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full |
Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic |
title_fullStr |
Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic |
title_sort |
subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the canadian arctic |
publisher |
Nature |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1993/34764 https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 |
geographic |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Baffin Bay Canada Canadian Arctic Archipelago |
genre |
Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic ArcticNet Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin canada basin Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Sea Zooplankton |
genre_facet |
Arctic Arctic Archipelago Arctic ArcticNet Baffin Bay Baffin Bay Baffin canada basin Canadian Arctic Archipelago Labrador Sea Zooplankton |
op_relation |
Wang, K., Munson, K., Beaupré-Laperrière, A., Mucci, A. Macdonald, R.W., & F. Wang. Subsurface seawater methylmercury maximum explains biotic mercury concentrations in the Canadian Arctic. Sci Rep 8, 14465 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 http://hdl.handle.net/1993/34764 doi:10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 |
op_rights |
open access |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-32760-0 |
container_title |
Scientific Reports |
container_volume |
8 |
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1 |
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1769003485243637760 |