The RMP Mercury Strategy: Studies Underway

1
The RMP Mercury Strategy Studies Underway
2
Talk 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
3
What is being done to answer the questions in the
Mercury Strategy?
4
Answering 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

5
Answering 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

6
Answering 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

7
Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions

• Question 1 Where is mercury entering the food
  web?

8
(No Transcript)
9
MeHg in sediments probabilistic stations
10

• Mississippi
• silverside

11
Topsmelt
12
White sturgeon
13
Sediments - RMP and other studies
Open Enclosed
14
Sediments - RMP and other studies

• Nearshore and enclosed sites higher

Open Enclosed
15
Small fish also show nearshore/offshore pattern
Wetland/margin species
Open water species
16
Sediment
17
What 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)

18
Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions

• Question 2 Which processes, sources, and
  pathways contribute disproportionately to food
  web accumulation?

19
Expanded 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

27
DGT Diffusive Gradient in Thinfilm

• Surrogate for biotic MeHg exposure
• Integrates water or sediments longer duration
  than grab samples

28
DGTs in the field
29
Can be placed in any aquatic location
30
Goals 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

31
Answering the Mercury Strategy Questions

• Question 3 What are the best opportunities for
  management intervention for the most important
  pollutant sources, pathways, and processes?

32
Acknowledgements
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