Title: The RMP Mercury Strategy: Studies Underway
1The RMP Mercury Strategy Studies Underway
2Talk Presents Multiple Data Sets
Katie Harrold, Aroon Melwani, Andy Jahn, Jay
Davis, John Oram, Shira Bezalel, Jen Hunt, Sarah
Lowe, Karen Taberski Regional Monitoring
Program Joel Blum, Gretchen Gehrke University
of Michigan Holger Hintelmann, Brian
Dimock Trent University Mark Marvin-DiPasquale,
David Krabbenhoft, Collin Eagles-Smith, Josh
Ackerman US Geological Survey Mark Stephenson,
Wes Heim Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Darell
Slotton, Shaun Ayers University of California -
Davis
3What is being done to answer the questions in the
Mercury Strategy?
4Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions
- Question 1 Where is mercury entering the food
web?
- RMP Studies
- Small Fish
- Sport Fish
- Avian Eggs
- Sediment
- Water
- Other Studies
- South Baylands Mercury Project
5Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions
- Question 2 Which processes, sources, and
pathways contribute disproportionately to food
web accumulation?
- RMP Studies
- Methylmercury Model
- DGTs
- Mercury Isotopes
- Small fish
- Other Studies
- WERF
- Effluent Monitoring
6Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions
- Question 3 What are the best opportunities for
management intervention for the most important
pollutant sources, pathways, and processes?
- Other Studies
- Prop 13 Control Options in Tidal Wetlands
- Props 40/50 Control Options in Suisun Marsh
- Prop 13 Urban stormwater BMPs
- RMP Studies
- Methylmercury Model Development
7Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions
- Question 1 Where is mercury entering the food
web?
8(No Transcript)
9MeHg in sediments probabilistic stations
10 11Topsmelt
12White sturgeon
13Sediments - RMP and other studies
Open Enclosed
14Sediments - RMP and other studies
- Nearshore and enclosed sites higher
Open Enclosed
15Small fish also show nearshore/offshore pattern
Wetland/margin species
Open water species
16Sediment
17What do available data suggest?
- Question 1 Where is mercury entering the food
web?
- Southern parts of Estuary
- South Bay Salt Ponds
- Nearshore areas
- Enclosed areas
- Marsh sloughs and vegetated marsh (sediments)
18Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions
- Question 2 Which processes, sources, and
pathways contribute disproportionately to food
web accumulation?
19Expanded small fish
- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Stratified probabilistic sampling
- Sampling 108 unique locations
20- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
21- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
- Enclosed sloughs?
22- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
- Enclosed sloughs?
- Industrial watershed drainages?
23- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
- Enclosed sloughs?
- Industrial watershed drainages?
- WWTPs?
24- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
- Enclosed sloughs?
- Industrial watershed drainages?
- WWTPs?
- Contaminated sediments
25- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
- Enclosed sloughs?
- Industrial watershed drainages?
- WWTPs?
- Contaminated sediments
- Hg mine drainages?
26- What kinds of sites are higher in fish Hg
- Wetlands?
- Enclosed sloughs?
- Industrial watershed drainages?
- WWTPs?
- Contaminated sediments
- Hg mine drainages?
- Compare to ambient bay and long term sites
27DGT Diffusive Gradient in Thinfilm
- Surrogate for biotic MeHg exposure
- Integrates water or sediments longer duration
than grab samples
28DGTs in the field
29Can be placed in any aquatic location
30Goals of the San Francisco Bay Hg Isotope Study
- Determine the Hg isotopic composition of
- Bedrock
- Mine tailings
- Gold mining
- Hg from bedrock in the drainage basin
- Hg from Hg mine tailings
- Hg from placer Au mining
- Urban run-off
- Municipal waste water
- Atmospheric deposition
- Determine the spatial distribution of Hg isotopic
compositions in Bay sediments (at least 9 sites)
to investigate sources of Hg in sediments - Determine the Hg isotopic compositions of fish
from the same sites to investigate sources of Hg
to fish
31Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions
- Question 3 What are the best opportunities for
management intervention for the most important
pollutant sources, pathways, and processes?
32Acknowledgements
Katie Harrold, Aroon Melwani, Andy Jahn, Jay
Davis, John Oram, Shira Bezalel, Jen Hunt, Sarah
Lowe, Karen Taberski Regional Monitoring
Program Joel Blum, Gretchen Gehrke University
of Michigan Holger Hintelmann, Brian
Dimock Trent University Mark Marvin-DiPasquale,
David Krabbenhoft, Collin Eagles-Smith, Josh
Ackerman US Geological Survey Mark Stephenson,
Wes Heim Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Darell
Slotton, Shaun Ayers University of California -
Davis