Distribution and Transport of Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Mercury-Contaminated Sediments in Reservoirs and Wetlands of the Sudbury River, East-Central MassachusettsWater-Resources Investigations Report 99-4060 By John A. Colman, Marcus C. Waldron, Robert F. Breault, and Robert M. Lent |
Total mercury and methylmercury were measured in 4 reservoir cores and 12 wetland cores from Sudbury River. The distribution of total mercury and methylmercury in these cores was evaluated to determine the potential for total mercury and methylmercury transport from reservoir and wetlands sediments to the water column. Concentrations of methylmercury were corrected for an analytical artifact introduced during the separation distillation used in the analysis procedure. Corrected methylmercury concentrations correlated with total mercury concentrations in bulk sediment from below the top layers of reservoir and wetland cores; methylmercury concentrations at the top layers of cores were relatively high, however, and were not correlated with total mercury concentrations. Concentrations of methylmercury in pore water were positively correlated with methylmercury concentrations in the bulk sediment. High concentrations of total mercury and methylmercury in sediment (73 and 0.047 micrograms per gram dry-weight basis, respectively) contributed less to the water column in the reservoir than in the wetlands probably because of burial by low concentration sediment and differences in the processes available to transport mercury from the sediments to the water in the reservoirs, as compared to the wetlands .
Abstract
Introduction
Acknowledgments
Description of Study Area and Coring Locations
Study Area
Coring Locations
Study Methods
Coring and Sampling Procedures
Analytical Procedures
Distribution of Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Sediments
Sediment Loss on Ignition
Total Mercury in Bulk Sediment of Reservoir Cores
Methylmercury in Bulk Sediment of Reservoir Cores
Total Mercury in Bulk Sediment of Wetland Cores
Methylmercury in Bulk Sediment of Wetland Cores
Correlation of Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Bulk Sediment
Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Pore Water
Transport of Total Mercury and Methylmercury
Transport of Mercury Species Between Reservoir Sediment and Water Column
Transport of Mercury Species Between Wetland Sediment and Water Column
Environmental Significance of the Methylmercury Transport and the Total Mercury-Methylmercury Correlation in Sediments
References
1 . Map showing locations of reservoir cores, wetland cores, and the Nyanza Site in the Sudbury River Basin in east-central Massachusetts
2-8. Graphs showing:
2. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations (dry-weight basis) in sediment cores from Whitehall Reservoir and Reservoir
3. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations (dry-weight basis) in water-saturated sediment cores from wetlands
4. Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations (dry-weight basis) in time-series cores from a wetland floodplain of the Sudbury River
5. Relation of total mercury to methylmercury concentrations (dry-weight basis) in bulk sediment in upper sections
6. Total mercury (left side) and methylmercury (right side) concentrations in pore water of cores from wetland and reservoir sediments of the Sudbury River
7. Relation of total mercury concentration in bulk sediment to total mercury concentration in pore water for Reservoir
8. Relation of methylmercury concentration in bulk sediment to methylmercury concentration in pore water for Reservoir
1. List of 7.5-minute topographic quadrangles covering Rhode Island, showing date of publication
2. List of Rhode Island cities and towns showing 7.5-minute quadrangles covering each municipality
3. Types of geologic and hydrologic information for which sources are summarized in tables 4-40 for quadrangles in Rhode Island
4-40. Geologic and hydrologic information for Rhode Island quadrangles
4. Ashaway Quadrangle
5. Attleboro Quadrangle
6. Blackstone Quadrangle
7. Block Island Quadrangle
8. Bristol Quadrangle
9. Carolina Quadrangle
10. Chepachet Quadrangle
11. Clayville Quadrangle
12. Coventry Center Quadrangle
13. Crompton Quadrangle
14. East Greenwich Quadrangle
15. East Killingly Quadrangle
16. East Providence Quadrangle
17. Fall River Quadrangle
18. Franklin Quadrangle
19. Georgiaville Quadrangle
20. Hope Valley Quadrangle
21. Kingston Quadrangle
22. Mystic Quadrangle
23. Narragansett Pier Quadrangle
24. Newport Quadrangle
25. North Scituate Quadrangle
26. Oneco Quadrangle
27. Oxford Quadrangle
28. Pawtucket Quadrangle
29. Providence Quadrangle
30. Prudence Island Quadrangle
31. Quonochontaug Quadrangle
32. Sakonnet Point Quadrangle
33. Slocum Quadrangle
34. Thompson Quadrangle
35. Tiverton Quadrangle
36. Uxbridge Quadrangle
37. Voluntown Quadrangle
38. Watch Hill Quadrangle
39. Westport Quadrangle
40. Wickford Quadrangle
41. List of publications, by report series, pertaining to the geology and hydrology of Rhode Island
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The citation for this report, in USGS format, is as follows:
Colman, J.A., Waldron, M.C., Breault, R.F., and Lent, R.M., 1999, Distribution and Transport of Total Mercury and Methylmercury in Mercury-Contaminated Sediments in Reservoirs and Wetlands of the Sudbury River, East-Central Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4060, 98 p.
For more information about USGS activities in Massachusetts-Rhode Island District, visit the USGS Massachusetts-Rhode Island Home Page.
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