Mercury Concentrations and Rates of Biogeochemical Transformations in Marine Waters of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

Sample collection took place during both legs of the 2005 CCGS Amundsen cruise, during Leg 1 in 2006 and during Leg 3 in 2007. Water samples were collected using Teflon-lined Niskin bottles mounted on the ship¿s rosette system, at sites ranging from Hudson Bay, the North Open Water Polynya, the Northwest Passage and the Beaufort Sea. The water column was sampled at the surface, middle and bottom in 2005 and 2006 and at the surface and chlorophyll maximum in 2007. The resulting water chemistry dataset includes concentrations of total Hg, MMHg, DMHg and GEM in water. In addition, samples were also analyzed for sulfate and dissolved organic carbon in 2007 and for sulfate only in 2006. To quantify rates of biogeochemical Hg transformations in the water column, some water samples were amended with Hg stable-isotope tracers, namely 198Hg(II) and MM199Hg, and incubated on-board the ship for up to 25 hours before being preserved by acidification or freezing. Samples were then analyzed for MMHg, DMHg and GEM, using various mass-spectroscopy techniques at either the University of Alberta or Trent University. Thus, the rate of transformation of the 198Hg(II) tracer into MM198Hg, for example, could be quantified. This dataset includes rate constants for the following water column processes: the methylation of Hg(II) to MMHg, the methylation of MMHg to DMHg, the demethylation of MMHg, the reduction of MMHg to Hg(0) and the reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(0).