Prediction of fish and sediment mercury in streams using landscape variables and historical mining

Widespread mercury (Hg) contamination of aquatic systems in the Sierra Nevada of California, U.S., is associated with historical use to enhance gold (Au) recovery by amalgamation. In areas affected by historical Au mining operations, including the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and downstream ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Science of the total environment 2016-11, Vol.571, p.364-379
Main Authors: Alpers, Charles N., Yee, Julie L., Ackerman, Joshua T., Orlando, James L., Slotton, Darrel G., Marvin-DiPasquale, Mark C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Akaike Information Criteria
Animals
California
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Fish
Fishes - metabolism
Geologic Sediments - analysis
Geospatial modeling
Gold mining
Mercury - analysis
Mercury - metabolism
Methylmercury
Methylmercury Compounds - analysis
Methylmercury Compounds - metabolism
Mining
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Rivers - chemistry
Salmo trutta
Streambed sediment
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - metabolism
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Summary:Widespread mercury (Hg) contamination of aquatic systems in the Sierra Nevada of California, U.S., is associated with historical use to enhance gold (Au) recovery by amalgamation. In areas affected by historical Au mining operations, including the western slope of the Sierra Nevada and downstream areas in northern California, such as San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River–San Joaquin River Delta, microbial conversion of Hg to methylmercury (MeHg) leads to bioaccumulation of MeHg in food webs, and increased risks to humans and wildlife. This study focused on developing a predictive model for THg in stream fish tissue based on geospatial data, including land use/land cover data, and the distribution of legacy Au mines. Data on total mercury (THg) and MeHg concentrations in fish tissue and streambed sediment collected during 1980–2012 from stream sites in the Sierra Nevada, California were combined with geospatial data to estimate fish THg concentrations across the landscape. THg concentrations of five fish species (Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Sacramento Pikeminnow, Sacramento Sucker, and Smallmouth Bass) within stream sections were predicted using multi-model inference based on Akaike Information Criteria, using geospatial data for mining history and landscape characteristics as well as fish species and length (r2=0.61, p
ISSN:0048-9697
1879-1026
DOI:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.05.088