Mercury Cycling in Aquatic Ecosystems: a National Investigation
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 Introduction
The Wisconsin District Mercury Studies Team is currently funded by the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program of the USGS to conduct a general examination of mercury in the environment called Mercury Cycling in Aquatic Ecosystems.
This multidiciplinary, national investigation is designed to examine geologic sources, historical trends in deposition, biogeochemical cycling processes, biological uptake, and biological effects of mercury in aquatic ecosystems.
Problem
Mercury is a problem of global extent because of the dominantly atmospheric pathways by which it is transported to even the most remote locations, and because naturally occurring processes convert a portion of mercury in aquatic ecosystems into methylmercury, a potent neurotoxin. In fact, if methylmercury were not produced in the environment, there probably would be no "mercury problem".
Concerns about environmental mercury pollution and contamination of aquatic food webs stem largely from the human and wildlife health risks of dietary exposure to methylmercury, the dominant form of mercury in the edible flesh of fish and aquatic mammals. The wide-spread nature and adverse consequences of mercury pollution continue to prompt considerable scientific investigation, and the environmental sources, biogeochemistry, transformations, transport, fate, and effects of mercury in the environment are subjects of frequent symposia, workshops, and a large, steadily expanding body of scientific literature.
Project goals
The Mercury in Aquatic Ecosystems project, coordinated by the Wisconsin Mercury Research Laboratory (WMRL) has several overall goals that seek to provide critical information to aid in the definition of the mercury problem and seek possible solutions or mitigation strategies. These goals are:
(A) to clarify the broader mercury problem from a scientific perspective;
(B) conduct research that will provide critical (but previously unavailable) information for resource managers and decision makers on what should be done to improve environmental Hg conditions;
(C) continue to provide scientific leadership (within the USGS and nationally and internationally) for the planning and execution of investigations of mercury biogeochemistry, transformations, transport, and fate in the environment; and
(D) serve as an intra-agency and inter-agency communication and coordination point for mercury research.
Objectives
Specific objectives of this study are to:
- Acquire national information inventories on mercury sources
- Design and conduct regional assessments to determine patterns (and controlling factors) of mercury contamination in the nation's aquatic ecosystems
- Execute ecosystem investigations to determine the processes and factors influencing methylmercury exposure in aquatic ecosystems
- Conduct toxicological studies to determine the significance of methylmercury exposure in fish-eating wildlife, with emphasis on reproductive effects
Publications
- Krabbenhoft, D.P., Wiener, J.G., Brumbaugh, W.G., Olson, M.L. DeWild, J.F., and Sabin, 1999, T.J., A National Pilot Study of Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems along Multiple Gradients, Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., 1999, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999--Volume 2--Contamination of Hydrologic Systems and Related Ecosystems: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018B, pp. 147-160.
- Krabbenhoft, D.P., and Wiener, J.G., 1999, Mercury Contamination: A Nationwide Threat to Our Aquatic Resources, and a Proposed Research Agenda for the U.S. Geological Survey, Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., 1999, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999--Volume 2--Contamination of Hydrologic Systems and Related Ecosystems: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018B, pp. 171-178.
- Wiener, J.G., and Krabbenhoft, D.P., 1999, Methylmercury in Aquatic Food Webs: Consequences and Management Challenges, Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., 1999, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999--Volume 2--Contamination of Hydrologic Systems and Related Ecosystems: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018B, 161-170.
- Olson, M.L., and DeWild, J.F., 1999, Techniques for the Collection and Species-Specific Analysis of Low Levels of Mercury in Water, Sediment, and Biota, Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., 1999, U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999--Volume 2--Contamination of Hydrologic Systems and Related Ecosystems: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018B, pp. 191-200.
- David P. Krabbenhoft, Mark L. Olson, John F. Dewild, David W. Clow, Robert G. Striegl, and Mark M. Dornblaser, 2000, Mercury Loading And Methylmercury Production And Cycling In High Altitude Lakes From The Western United States, Symposium on High Mountain Lakes and Streams, September 4-8, 2000, Innsbruck, Austria.
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