Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury in the Boston Area

Atmospheric deposition has been found to be the dominant source of mercury (Hg) in New England's aquatic environment (Krabbenhoft and others, 1999; Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and others, 1998). Little is known about atmospheric mercury deposition in urban areas because most atmospheric monitoring to date has been done in rural areas. Preliminary water, sediment, and fish tissue data, collected by U.S. Geological Survey's New England Coastal Basins (NECB) study as part of the National Water Quality Assessment (NAWQA) program, shows elevated concentrations of mercury in the Boston metropolitan area. The NECB Mercury Deposition Network is a four-site, 2-year data collection effort by the USGS to help define the levels of mercury in precipitation and identify how atmospheric mercury may be contributing to mercury in the aquatic ecosystem. [Summary provided by the USGS.]