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Ultratrace Speciation and Biogenesis of Methyltin Transport Species in Estuarine Waters

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Trace Metals in Sea Water

Part of the book series: NATO Conference Series ((MARS,volume 9))

Abstract

Environmental tin, widely dispersed at low concentrations in waters, sediments, and biota, is shown to be a bioactive element susceptible to methylation and even hydridization by marine bacteria. The redox cycle of tin in natural waters is poorly understood and recent advances in tin-specific molecular characterization fail to speciate Sn(II) and Sn(IV) reliably. Nonetheless, such rapid developments in speciation methodology now permit growing numbers of studies of organotin distributions in aquatic systems, raising the question of the “natural” biogeochemical flux of methylstannanes in relation to increased anthropogenic organo-tin influx from industry and shipping. New methods for direct speciation of aquated or involatile organotins by liquid chromatography are compared with advances in purge-and-trap sampling of volatile or hydrophobic organotins speciated by gas chromatography. The work in our laboratory indicates that effective models for estuarine formation and transport may ultimately be developed, but that basic roadblocks to progress stem from inadequate descriptive aqueous organometallic chemistry and knowledge of critical kinetic parameters for the lifetimes of key organotin species in sea water, occurring at sub-nanomolar concentrations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chemical and Biodegradation Processes Group, National Bureau of Standards, Washington, D.C., 20234, USA

    F. E. Brinckman, J. A. Jackson, W. R. Blair, G. J. Olson & W. P. Iverson

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  1. F. E. Brinckman
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  2. J. A. Jackson
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  3. W. R. Blair
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  4. G. J. Olson
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  5. W. P. Iverson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ocean Sciences, Sidney, British Columbia, Canada

    C. S. Wong (Editor-in-Chief) (Editor-in-Chief)

  2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA

    Edward Boyle

  3. University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA

    Kenneth W. Bruland

  4. University of Southampton, Southampton, UK

    J. D. Burton

  5. University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA

    Edward D. Goldberg

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Brinckman, F.E., Jackson, J.A., Blair, W.R., Olson, G.J., Iverson, W.P. (1983). Ultratrace Speciation and Biogenesis of Methyltin Transport Species in Estuarine Waters. In: Wong, C.S., Boyle, E., Bruland, K.W., Burton, J.D., Goldberg, E.D. (eds) Trace Metals in Sea Water. NATO Conference Series, vol 9. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6864-0_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-6864-0_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

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