Legacy and Fate of Mercury and Methylmercury in the Florida Everglades

Mass inventories of total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) and mass budgets of Hg newly deposited during the 2005 dry and wet seasons were constructed for the Everglades. As a sink for Hg, the Everglades has accumulated 914, 1138, 4931, and 7602 kg of legacy THg in its 4 management units, namely Wa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science & technology 2011-01, Vol.45 (2), p.496-501
Main Authors: Liu, Guangliang, Naja, G. Melodie, Kalla, Peter, Scheidt, Dan, Gaiser, Evelyn, Cai, Yong
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Air Pollutants - analysis
Applied sciences
Contamination
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring
Environmental Processes
Exact sciences and technology
Florida
Fresh Water - chemistry
Mercury
Mercury - analysis
Methylmercury Compounds - analysis
National parks
Pollution
Seasons
Soil - chemistry
Water conservation
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Wetlands
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Mass inventories of total Hg (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) and mass budgets of Hg newly deposited during the 2005 dry and wet seasons were constructed for the Everglades. As a sink for Hg, the Everglades has accumulated 914, 1138, 4931, and 7602 kg of legacy THg in its 4 management units, namely Water Conservation Area (WCA) 1, 2, 3, and the Everglades National Park (ENP), respectively, with most Hg being stored in soil. The current annual Hg inputs account only for 1−2% of the legacy Hg. Mercury transport across management units during a season amounts to 1% or less of Hg storage, except for WCA 2 where inflow inputs can contribute 4% of total MeHg storage. Mass budget suggests distinct spatiality for cycling of seasonally deposited Hg, with significantly lower THg fluxes entering water and floc in ENP than in the WCAs. Floc in WCAs can retain a considerable fraction (around 16%) of MeHg produced from the newly deposited Hg during the wet season. This work is important for evaluating the magnitude of legacy Hg contamination and for predicting the fate of new Hg in the Everglades, and provides a methodological example for large-scale studies on Hg cycling in wetlands.
ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/es101207f