Sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy (S-K XAS) and EPR spectroscopy have been used to investigate the inorganic solution chemistry of vanadium, sulfate, and methanesulfonate, with application to blood cells from the tunicate Ascidia ceratodes. Three independent whole blood cell preparations (S85, S86, W87) collected over a period of 18 months were examined. Average blood cell vanadium concentrations were determined to be 0.099, 0.079, and 0.062 M, respectively. All three collections gave sulfur XAS spectra consistent with significant intracellular concentrations of low-valent sulfur, analkanesulfonic acid, and sulfate. In model studies, the line width of the sulfate K-edge XAS spectrum was found to titrate with both pH and [V(III)]. Application of this finding to A. ceratodes blood cell sulfur XAS spectra provided evidence for direct interactions between endogenous dissolved sulfate and V(III) in two of the three collections. All three collections yielded sulfate XAS edge spectra consistent with low pH. Curve-fitting analysis of the S-K edge XAS spectra for the three whole blood cell collections yielded the ratios of intracellular sulfate:alkane sulfonate:low-valent sulfur to be as follows : S85, 1.0:0.9:0.36; S86, 1.0:0.5:1.5; W87, 1.0:0.44:0.24. Comparisons with models indicated that the low-valent blood cell sulfur included various disulfide-like compounds unlike cystine. This all implies a surprisingly rich and variable sulfur biochemistry in these marine organisms. EPR spectroscopy of whole blood cells from one animal from the W87 collection revealed an endogenous VO2+-sulfate interaction. Thus both V(III) and VO2+ can sense an intracellular pool of sulfate, implying the biological colocation of these two metal ions. The variations in blood chemistry observed over time as described herein caution against definitive application of single point experiments.