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ANALYSIS OF MERCURY IN VERMONT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE LAKES: EVALUATION OF THE REGIONAL MERCURY CYCLING MODEL
Citation:
Knightes, C AND R B. Ambrose Jr. ANALYSIS OF MERCURY IN VERMONT AND NEW HAMPSHIRE LAKES: EVALUATION OF THE REGIONAL MERCURY CYCLING MODEL. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-04/080 (NTIS PB2005-101438), 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
To improve the scientific understanding of the linkage between fish methylmercury and ambient mercury in the environment.
To complete a model for transformation and bioaccumulation of mercury than can be linked with models for atmospheric deposition and hydrology to yield a multimedia integrated modeling system capable of quantifying regional exposure to mercury.
To apply state of the art watershed and water body modeling to assess exposures to mercury for impacted aquatic ecosystems.
Description:
An evaluation of the Regional Mercury Cycling Model (R-MCM, a steady-state fate and transport model used to simulate mercury concentrations in lakes) is presented based on its application to a series of 91 lakes in Vermont and New Hampshire. Visual and statistical analyses are presented in an effort to investigate both the behavior of the model as well as the model's ability to predict the observed mercury concentrations in the water column, sediments and fish tissue. The sensitivity of the model to certain parameters and processes was also evaluated. A comparison of model trends to the observed trends was made. These investigations provide further insight into the complications and challenges that surround modeling the fate and transport of mercury within a given water body, and understanding the exposure concentrations of mercury in the surrounding ecosystem via mercury bioaccumulation in the aquatic food web (e.g., fish) and its transfer to piscivorous wildlife and humans.