Meridional distribution of arsenic species in the subantarctic zone of the Southern Ocean, south of Australia

Distribution of the arsenic species total inorganic arsenic [As(V+III)], arsenite [As(III)], monomethyl arsenic (MMA), and dimethyl arsenic (DMA) was studied in the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) of the Southern Ocean, south of Australia, during the austral autumn (March 1998). As(V) was the dominant arsenic species in both vertical profiles and surface waters along the meridional transect 42°–55°S, 141°30′E. It was also the only species observed at depths >600 m. Concentrations of the reduced arsenic species (As(III), MMA, and DMA) were low in these waters compared with other oceanic sites with similar concentrations of chlorophyll a. As(III) concentrations could not be reliably quantified at any sites (