ABSTRACT
The major advances in knowledge of the concentrations and distributions of trace metals in the seas and oceans have occurred since the mid 1970s. The influence of biological activity in the surface ocean is not limited to the recycled metals. The trace alkali metals, lithium, rubidium, and cesium, like their more abundant counterparts, sodium and potassium, behave nearly conservatively in the ocean. A highly unusual instance of conservative behavior is provided by methylated species of germanium. The general characteristics of the scavenged metals are well illustrated by the behavior of aluminum. Analytical procedures for dissolved trace metals in seawater are generally intended to measure the total concentration of the various chemical species present in filtered samples, with distinction between different oxidation states of metals. Most of the information available on chemical speciation comes from theoretical models and from analytical approaches which provide information on the extent of complexation rather than on the occurrence of specific complexes.
