| The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distribution and the relative importance of processes that affect mercury distribution in the water column at the shelf edge of the Celtic Sea, on the western European continental margin. The water column, down to 4500 m, was sampled during two cruises, one in winter 1994 and the other in June 1995, on eight stations. Total mercury concentrations ranged from 0.29 to 9.37 pM with the extreme values in the first 200 m. The highly variable concentrations in the surface layers are attributed to intense atmospheric-sea water exchange processes. The low concentrations encountered in the shelf water prelude any significant influence of continental waters in this area. In the mixed layer, biological uptake and... |
