Influences of watershed characteristics on mercury levels in Wisconsin rivers

Author: Hurley, JP; Benoit, JM; Babiarz, CL; Shafer, MM; Andren, AW; Sullivan, JR; Hammond, R; Webb, DA

Description: Total and monomethyl mercury were measured at 39 river sites in Wisconsin during fall 1992 and spring 1993. Using a Geographic Information System (GIS), we delineated watersheds with unique and homogeneous physical characteristics. Mean unfiltered total Hg (HgT) was higher in spring (7.94 ng L-1) than in fall (3.45 ng L-1). Major differences in HgT yields were observed among various land-use groupings. In wetland/forest watersheds, elevated HgT fluxes were associated with the filtered phase, while in agricultural watersheds, increased HgT fluxes were due to particle loading. Monomethylmercury (MeHg) yields from wetland/forest sites were higher than agricultural/forest sites and agricultural only sites. Percent wetland surface area was positively correlated with MeHg yield. These results identify the importance of land use and land cover in influencing Hg concentrations, speciation, and transport in rivers.

Subject headings: Mercury; Watershed; Rivers; GIS; Monomethylmercury; Land use; Land cover

Publication year: 1995

Journal or book title: Environmental science & technology

Volume: 29

Issue: 7

Pages: 1867-1875

Find the full text: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es00007a026

Find more like this one (cited by): https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cites=11402642150709764909&as_sdt=1000005&sciodt=0,16&hl=en

Serial number: 4189

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.