Ultratrace Speciation and Biogenesis of Methyltin Transport Species in Estuarine Waters.
Abstract
Environmental tin, widely dispersed at low concentrations in waters, sediments, and biota, is now perceived to be a bioactive element susceptible to methylation and even hydridization by marine bacteria. Nonetheless, 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. On the other hand, 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 organotin 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, that the 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. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1981
- Accession Number
- ADA100587
Entities
People
- F. E. Brinckman
- G. J. Olson
- J. A. Jackson
- W. P. Iverson
- W. R. Blair
Organizations
- National Institute of Standards and Technology