| Abstract Title: | Mercury Distribution in Sermilik Fjord, Southeast Greenland |
| Presenter Name: | Margaret Lindeman |
| Company/Institution: | Scripps Institution of Oceanography |
| Session: | Mercury in Polar Ecosystems |
| Co-Authors: | Margaret Lindeman,Hannah Adams,Monica Nelson,Amina Schartup,Fiamma Straneo |
Abstract Information :
Meltwater input from Greenland?s marine-terminating glaciers drives upwelling of nutrient-rich deep ocean waters, leading to high productivity in glacially-modified fjord waters. A recent study found elevated levels of mercury in surface waters downstream of land-terminating glaciers in southwest Greenland, suggesting meltwater is enriched in mercury. However, in an August 2021 survey of a large glacial fjord in southeast Greenland, we found that glacially-modified waters have lower mercury (~0.2-0.5 pM) than Atlantic Water (~0.5-0.9 pM) found at depth in the fjord and on the continental shelf. In the surface waters, which have the highest concentration of meltwater, there is a strong along-fjord gradient in mercury concentration with the highest values found near the mouth, and a positive correlation between mercury concentration and salinity. Our results suggest that glacial meltwaters in this region are low in mercury relative to oceanic concentrations.
