A Transect of Mercury Species in Fog Across the Coastal Zone

Fog water was collected at multiple locations from May 2014 to February 2016 with an active strand cloudwater collector (CASCC) both at sea and on land. Stations were distributed from over 200 km offshore to 150 km inland. Total mercury (Hg) and monomethyl Hg (MMHg) concentrations were determined with the goal of determining the source of MMHg in fog water. Marine advective fog water concentrations of MMHg from samples collected from four ship cruises along the coast of California and southern Oregon had were 0.40 ± 0.75 pM (N = 14). This is much lower than fog water concentrations of MMHg from eight land sites along the coast of California between Monterey and Eureka which produced a values of 8.0 ± 9.5 pM (N = 149). In contrast, tule fog water collected in the Central Valley of California at Atwater had a relatively low mean MMHg concentrations of 0.95 ± 0.38 pM (N = 3). Except in upwelling regions, concentrations of MMHg observed farthest offshore and farthest inland were lower than concentrations observed closest to shore, whereas total Hg concentrations were not significantly different. We hypothesize that the source of the elevated MMHg in fog water collected at sites closest to shore must be a result of processes that are maximized in the near-shore environment. The potential contribution from bubble breaking and microlayer ejecta in the surf zone and evasion of the precursor dimethyl mercury, will be presented.