Arsenic cycling in marine systems

The arsenic cycle in productive, near-shore marine systems is complex, involving both geochemical inputs and outflows and biological mediation. The major input to the Georgia Bight is intrusion of subsurface Gulf Stream water; in other marine systems, river run-off and atmospheric deposition may provide a large percentage of the arsenic input. Indiscriminate biological uptake is responsible for changes in arsenic speciation, involving approximately 20% of the dissolved arsenate pool and resulting in measurable concentrations of reduced and methylated arsenic species. The overall cycle is similar to the phosphate cycle; however, regeneration time for arsenic is much slower.