Project Grant 2319385
- This $335,410 Project Grant award from the National Science Foundation's Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) will fund a collaborative research study led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to investigate the cycling and uptake of monomethylmercury (MMHg) in natural phytoplankton assemblages. The 3-year study will focus on the Western North Atlantic Ocean and its estuaries, a region with productive fisheries. The research aims to better understand the fundamental processes governing...
- This National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) Project Grant, awarded to Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, provides $158,036 to study monomethylmercury (MMHg) cycling in natural phytoplankton assemblages in the western North Atlantic Ocean. The overarching goal is to improve understanding of the factors controlling MMHg uptake by phytoplankton, which is crucial for modeling MMHg transfer through the marine food web. Key research activities include year-round...
- This three-year, $925,541 Project Grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences aims to develop a better understanding of ambient reactive mercury chemistry, reactions forming, and methods for measurement. The University of Nevada, Reno will collaborate with the University of California Santa Cruz to focus initial data collection on a subset of Clean Air Status and Trends Network and National Atmospheric Deposition Program Mercury Deposition Network...
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded a $808,280 Project Grant under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to the University of Connecticut (UConn) to conduct collaborative research on studying monomethylmercury (MMHg) in natural phytoplankton assemblages in the western North Atlantic Ocean and its estuaries. The 3-year project aims to investigate the fundamental processes that govern MMHg uptake and cycling in the ocean, leveraging seasonal and geographical changes in biological...
- The National Science Foundation awarded a $432,778 Project Grant to the University of Connecticut under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) for research titled "Collaborative Research: The Effects of Terrestrial Organic Matter Inputs on Coastal Mercury Cycling, Methylmercury Production and Bioaccumulation." The three-year award beginning June 1, 2022 will support research examining how increased terrestrial organic matter delivery to coastal waters from climate change influences...
- This $401,056 National Science Foundation project grant under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) will fund research examining the effects of terrestrial organic matter inputs on coastal mercury cycling, methylmercury production and bioaccumulation in the Gulf of Maine. Specifically, the grantee will study how climate change-driven increases in rainfall and river runoff influence the delivery of contaminants, organic matter and nutrients from land to coastal waters. Field surveys and shipboard...
- The University of Connecticut was awarded a $283,534 project grant from the National Science Foundation Division of Ocean Sciences under the Geosciences federal grant program (CFDA 47.050) to study methylated mercury sources and cycling in the high latitude North Atlantic. This two-year award, which began on August 15, 2021 and runs through July 31, 2023, will fund research into strengthening the understanding of the integrated Earth system through basic research of atmospheric, earth, and ocean...
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a $574,980 Project Grant under its Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to the University of Rhode Island (URI) Research Office Division. The grant will support research to study monomethylmercury (MMHg) in natural phytoplankton assemblages in the western North Atlantic Ocean and its estuaries. The project aims to improve understanding of the fundamental processes governing MMHg uptake and cycling at the base of the marine food web. The researchers will...
- The National Science Foundation Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences awarded a $235,435 Project Grant to the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) under the Geosciences program (CFDA 47.050) to conduct a collaborative research project on the verification of atmospheric mercury redox rates. The key objectives are to: (1) conduct year-long measurements of elemental and divalent mercury, related oxidants, and other variables; (2) use a zero-dimensional model to identify mercury chemical...
- The National Science Foundation (NSF) Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences awarded a $227,159 Project Grant to the University of Utah to conduct a year-long measurement campaign to quantify mercury speciation and oxidation rates in the atmosphere near a magnesium mining facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The primary objectives are to: 1) Measure elemental and divalent mercury, related oxidants, and other chemical and meteorological variables; 2) Use a zero-dimensional chemical...
CONSTRAINING THE AIR-SEA EXCHANGE OF INORGANIC AND METHYLATED MERCURY WITH HIGH RESOLUTION SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL MEASUREMENTS IN THE SARGASSO SEA -MERCURY (HG), A GLOBAL POLLUTANT, IS RELEASED TO THE BIOSPHERE PREDOMINANTLY BY HUMAN ACTIVITY, THROUGH INTENTIONAL USE OR AS A TRACE ELEMENT IN COAL, ORES, AND OTHER PRODUCTS. THESE RELEASES ARE EXACERBATED BY CLIMATE CHANGE. ATMOSPHERIC HG IS PREDOMINANTLY ELEMENTAL HG (HG0) - A GAS WITH A RELATIVELY LONG RESIDENCE TIME THAT CAN BE TRANSPORTED GLOBALLY TO REMOTE REGIONS. AFTER ITS TRANSFORMATION BY ATMOSPHERIC CHEMICAL REACTIONS TO IONIC HG, IT IS DEPOSITED TO THE OCEAN THROUGH PRECIPITATION, AEROSOL, AND GASEOUS HG DEPOSITION. IN SURFACE WATERS, IONIC HG IS BIOLOGICALLY AND ABIOTICALLY TRANSFORMED INTO HG0, WHICH IS THEN RETURNED TO THE ATMOSPHERE VIA GAS EXCHANGE. OVERALL, ATMOSPHERIC DEPOSITION IS THE PRIMARY SOURCE, AND HG0 GAS EVASION IS THE PRIMARY LOSS MECHANISM FOR OCEAN HG. THE EXTENT OF AIR-SEA EXCHANGE THEREFORE ALTERS THE OCEAN HG BURDEN AND IMPACTS THE GLOBAL MERCURY CYCLE. FURTHERMORE, THE OCEANIC IONIC HG CAN BE TRANSFORMED INTO THE MORE TOXIC AND BIOACCUMULATIVE METHYLMERCURY (MEHG), WHICH CONCENTRATES IN SEAFOOD SUFFICIENTLY TO BE A GLOBAL HUMAN HEALTH CONCERN AND IMPACT WILDLIFE. UNDERSTANDING THE FACTORS THAT MEDIATE THE AIR-SEA EXCHANGE OF HG IS OF VITAL IMPORTANCE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF HUMANS AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON MEHG LEVELS IN SEAFOOD, AND HUMAN HEALTH. THE PROJECT, CO-FUNDED BY THE CHEMICAL OCEANOGRAPHY PROGRAM AND THE ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY PROGRAM, WILL EVALUATE THE CONCENTRATIONS OF HG IN THE SURFACE OCEAN AND ATMOSPHERE TO EXAMINE THE FACTORS CONTROLLING THEIR CONCENTRATION AND CHEMISTRY, AND THE MAGNITUDE OF THE HG SOURCES AND SINKS. THERE IS LIMITED DATA EXAMINING THE SEASONAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF HG SPECIATION IN THE SURFACE OCEAN AT A SPECIFIC LOCATION, AND ITS AIR-SEA EXCHANGE, AND THIS IS THE STUDY?S PRIMARY FOCUS. MEASUREMENTS WILL BE MADE IN THE NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN NEAR BERMUDA, DURING BOTH MONTHLY AND SPECIFIC HG-FOCUSED CRUISES. ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLES WILL BE COLLECTED AS WELL AT THE ATMOSPHERIC SAMPLING STATION IN BERMUDA. DURING CRUISES, HIGH RESOLUTION HG SPECIATION DATA IN THE ATMOSPHERE (GASEOUS AND AEROSOL) AND SURFACE WATERS (GASEOUS ELEMENTAL HG, DISSOLVED AND PARTICULATE IONIC HG, MEHG AND DIMETHYLMERCURY) WILL BE GATHERED TO EXAMINE THE SOURCES OF HG AND ITS TRANSFORMATIONS, AND HOW THIS IMPACTS THE FORMATION OF MEHG. ADDITIONALLY, MEASUREMENTS OF HG STABLE ISOTOPES IN ATMOSPHERIC AND WATER SAMPLES WILL BE USED TO IDENTIFY SOURCES (E.G., GEOGENIC OR ANTHROPOGENIC INPUTS) AND DELIVERY MECHANISMS OF HG TO THIS REGION. THIS PROPOSED RESEARCH WILL FURTHER ASSESS THE IMPORTANCE OF NATURAL VARIABILITY, HUMAN ACTIVITY, AND CLIMATE CHANGE ON ALTERING HG AND MEHG LEVELS IN THE OCEAN, AND IN MARINE ORGANISMS CONSUMED BY HUMANS. THIS AWARD REFLECTS NSF'S STATUTORY MISSION AND HAS BEEN DEEMED WORTHY OF SUPPORT THROUGH EVALUATION USING THE FOUNDATION'S INTELLECTUAL MERIT AND BROADER IMPACTS REVIEW CRITERIA.
Mod # | Description | ReasonForModification | Federal Obligation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not listed | $20.0k | 7/8/25 | ||
| Not listed | $680.7k | 8/11/23 |