where does mercury in the ocean come from
Mercury pollution in the ocean Mercury enters the ocean in different ways. Atmospheric deposition is the largest source of mercury to the oceans. Atmospheric deposition introduces three types of mercury to the ocean. Gaseous elemental mercury (Hg0) enters the ocean through air-water exchange. Inorganic mercury (Hg2+/HgII) and particle-bound mercury (Hg(P)) enters through wet and dry deposition. In addition, mercury enters the ocean via rivers, estuaries, sediments, and, hydrothermal vents etc.[11] These sources also release organic mercury compounds such as Methyl mercury. Once they are in the ocean they can undergo many reactions primarily grouped as; redox reactions (gain or loss of electrons), adsorption processes (binding to solid particles), methylation and demethylation (addition or removal of a methyl group).[1]
Ocean An ocean (from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός, transc. Okeanós, the sea of classical antiquity[1]) is a body of saline water that composes much of a planet's hydrosphere.[2] On Earth, an ocean is one of the major conventional divisions of the World Ocean. These are, in descending order by area, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Southern (Antarctic), and Arctic Oceans.[3][4] The word sea is often used interchangeably with "ocean" in American English but, strictly speaking, a sea is a body of saline water (generally a division of the world ocean) partly or fully enclosed by land.[5]