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Mercury uptake within an ice algal community during the spring bloom in first‐year Arctic sea ice
Author(s) -
Burt Alexis,
Wang Feiyue,
Pućko Monika,
Mundy ChristopherJohn,
Gosselin Michel,
Philippe Benoît,
Poulin Michel,
Tremblay JeanÉric,
Stern Gary A.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1002/jgrc.20380
Subject(s) - sea ice , mercury (programming language) , oceanography , arctic , environmental science , food web , algae , seawater , arctic ice pack , bioaccumulation , bloom , spring bloom , antarctic sea ice , methylmercury , phytoplankton , environmental chemistry , ecosystem , chemistry , ecology , geology , nutrient , biology , computer science , programming language
In this study, we examine mercury bioaccumulation by a first‐year sea‐ice (FYI) algal community in the western Canadian Arctic during the spring of 2008. Total mercury concentration in bottom sea‐ice particulate ([PHg] T ) ranged 0.004–0.022 µg/g dw and was limited by the amount of mercury available for uptake when the spring bloom commenced. Mercury in ice algae originated from a combination of brine and seawater as sources, while atmospheric mercury depletion events did not appear to significantly contribute as a source in a coupled manner. We show that the bottom sea‐ice brine presents a chemically and biologically unique niche from which inorganic Hg makes its way into the food web. Once incorporated into algae, mercury can be transported spatially and trophically within the ecosystem by a range of processes including grazing, resuspension, remineralization, and sedimentation. Ice algae contribute 10–60% of the annual primary production in the Arctic and are thought to become even more productive and abundant under a mild climate change scenario. Replacement of multiyear ice with FYI in the Beaufort Sea alone could result in an additional influx of ∼48 kg/yr of particle bound Hg. Further studies are thus warranted to elucidate mechanisms by which mercury transformation processes and transfer into the Arctic marine food web are impacted by the interaction between sea ice, brine, and seawater.