{"id":9267,"date":"2016-01-29T14:41:50","date_gmt":"2016-01-29T22:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlmlblog.wordpress.com\/?p=9267"},"modified":"2020-10-23T11:58:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-23T18:58:15","slug":"fog-blog-smoke-on-the-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/student-life\/2016\/01\/29\/fog-blog-smoke-on-the-water\/","title":{"rendered":"Fog Blog: Smoke on the Water"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By: Alex Olson and Holly Chiswell,\u00a0Chemical Oceanography Lab<\/a><\/h3>\n
\"Able<\/a>
Able Seaman Pat Breshears of Oregon State University\u2019s R\/V Oceanus shuttles Holly Chiswell and Alex Olson out into the haze to collect sea surface microlayer samples offshore of Northern California.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Chemical Oceanography and MPSL labs set out on their latest cruise this past summer in hopes of bolstering and expanding their search to answer the question: \u00a0how is monomethylmercury (MMHg) transported into coastal marine fog? For those who missed our first post, a quick review:<\/p>\n

MMHg is a neurotoxic form of mercury (Hg) recently discovered in marine advective fog along the central Californian Coast at trace levels, yet still 100 times higher than that of rain. Naturally, monomethylmercury is the byproduct of cellular metabolism in certain anaerobic bacteria; created (or methylated) from available elemental Hg. Oxygen minimum zones in the ocean also show increased levels of MMHg, suggesting its production occurs within microenvironments in these zones. In other words, it\u2019s possible that bacteria that make their living in the anoxic depths of the ocean may be pumping out MMHg from any available elemental Hg in seawater. Elemental Hg (the kind found in old thermometers) is widespread and found globally in trace amounts. Volcanoes and other geologic venting were the main contributors of elemental and reactive forms of Hg to the atmosphere before the Industrial Revolution. Since then, global atmospheric levels of Hg have more than quadrupled. Anthropogenic sources of Hg are responsible for most Hg poisonings worldwide. One event, involving MMHg in waste discharge from a chemical plant, led to thousands of deaths in the small Japanese fishing town of Minamata. This event in the 1950\u2019s, led to elevating global awareness of MMHg pollution. \u201cMinamata\u2019s Disease\u201d is now a term used to describe the symptoms associated with the degradation of the body\u2019s nervous system as a result of high MMHg toxicity. In case you are wondering, these symptoms include:<\/p>\n