Mercury accumulation in hydrothermal vent mollusks from the southern Tonga Arc, southwestern Pacific Ocean

• Published in: Chemosphere (Oxford) 2015-05, Vol.127, p.246-253
• Main Authors: Lee, Seyong, Kim, Se-Joo, Ju, Se-Jong, Pak, Sang-Joon, Son, Seung-Kyu, Yang, Jisook, Han, Seunghee
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bacteria; Bacteria - chemistry; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Gills - chemistry; Hydrothermal plumes; Hydrothermal vents; Hydrothermal Vents - chemistry; Marine; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Mercury - analysis; Methylmercury Compounds - analysis; Mollusca; Mollusca - chemistry; Mollusca - microbiology; Mollusks; Monomethylmercury; Pacific Ocean; Sediments; Sulfides; Tonga; Tonga Arc; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
• ISSN: 0045-6535; 1879-1298
• DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.01.006

[Display omitted] •Mercury was measured from plume water, sediment, ore and mollusks of Tonga Arc.•Mercury concentration in sediment was orders of magnitude higher than other vents.•Mercury concentrations in mollusks were 10–100 times higher than other vents.•Accumulation of mercury in vent mollusks was substantial but not for methylmercury. We provide the mercury (Hg) and monomethylmercury (MMHg) levels of the plume water, sulfide ore, sediment, and mollusks located at the hydrothermal vent fields of the southern Tonga Arc, where active volcanism and intense seismic activity occur frequently. Our objectives were: (1) to address the potential release of Hg from hydrothermal fluids and (2) to examine the distribution of Hg and MMHg levels in hydrothermal mollusks (mussels and snails) harboring chemotrophic bacteria. While high concentrations of Hg in the sediment and Hg, As, and Sb in the sulfide ore indicates that their source is likely hydrothermal fluids, the MMHg concentration in the sediment was orders of magnitude lower than the Hg (