We use cookies to improve your experience, some are essential for the operation of this site.

Mercury cycle illustration

Mercury cycle illustration
Mercury cycle illustration
Mercury cycle illustration
Mercury cycle illustration
Comments (0)
171956
Cook, John E.
Mercury cycle illustration
Illustration
12/26/2007
MercuryCycleSchematic.jpg
Image of The Day caption:
Mercury cycles from Earth's crust to the air to the ocean and back to land. In the ocean, top predator fish such as tuna and swordfish contain high levels of monomethyl mercury, a highly toxic form of the element mercury that causes trembling, erratic behavior, and birth defects. WHOI geochemist Carl Lamborg is trying to identify where in the ocean mercury gets converted to monomethyl mercury.
Caption from Oceanus magazine, Vol. 48, No. 2, pg. 24:
Mercury (Hg) cycles from Earth to atmosphere to ocean and back to Earth. In the ocean, mercury is converted to monomethylmercury (MMHg), a neurotoxin that moves up the food chain and becomes highly concentrated in tuna, swordfish, and other fish that people eat.
Illustration by Jack Cook, ©Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Labels
This item includes these files
Image
Image
Collections