Abstract
The trace element composition of precipitation (rain and snow) provides a way of monitoring anthropogenic and natural emissions to the atmosphere; the subsequent deposition of such emissions (for example, as acid precipitation) can have important effects on aquatic ecosystems. In this regard, the mobilization of selenium by fossil fuel combustion1 and selenium's toxicity2 provide compelling reasons to examine this element's atmospheric transport and removal. Furthermore, recent investigations suggest that atmospheric deposition is an important selenium input to oceanic surface waters3,4. Here we examine data on the concentration and oxidation state of selenium in precipitation over coastal and mid-ocean regions of the western Atlantic Ocean. The results indicate that fossil fuel combustion enriches selenium in wet depositional fluxes to western Atlantic surface waters, and that selenium's oxidation state in precipitation may be a sensitive oxidation–reduction (redox) tracer.
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Cutter, G., Church, T. Selenium in western Atlantic precipitation. Nature 322, 720–722 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1038/322720a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/322720a0
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