Spatial Patterns of Mercury in Atmospheric Deposition, Soils and Lake Biota in the Adirondack

Mercury (Hg), as a trace element cycling in the environment, poses a serious health threat to both humans and wildlife due to its toxicity. Atmospheric deposition is the main source of Hg to most remote environments. The Adirondack Park in New York State of the United States receives moderate Hg deposition, and is a region characterized by relatively high concentrations of Hg in the terrestrial and especially aquatic biota. It is important to understand the mechanisms that contribute to the sensitivity of this region to Hg inputs. In my research, studies of the spatial patterns of Hg in atmospheric deposition, soils and lake biota were conducted as tools to characterize and quantify the inputs, transport, transformations, and bioaccumulation of Hg in the Adirondacks. Atmospheric Hg deposition was estimated using numerical modeling and limited field data. Mercury deposition to the coniferous forest, and deciduous forest during the leaf-on period was estimated as the sum of litterfall and throughfall deposition, and Hg deposition to the deciduous forest during the leaf-off period and the non-forest areas year-around was estimated as wet deposition plus modeled dry Hg deposition. Dry H