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Mark E. Brigham

Publications and source records attributed to Mark E. Brigham.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Fluvial transport of mercury, organic carbon, suspended sediment, and selected major ions in contrasting stream basins in South Carolina and New York, October 2004 to September 2009

A spatially extensive assessment of the environmental controls on mercury transport and bioaccumulation in stream ecosystems in New York and South Carolina was conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program and included the determination of fluvial transport of mercury and associated constituents during water years 2005–2009. (A water year extends from October of one calendar year to September of the next calendar year.) In the Coastal Plain region of South Carolina, the study area included the Edisto River and its headwater tributary, McTier Creek. In the Adirondack region of New York, the study area included the upper Hudson River and its headwater tributary, Fishing Brook. Median concentrations of filtered total mercury rangedfrom 1.55 nanograms per liter (ng/L) at the Hudson River site to 2.77 ng/L at the Edisto River site. The Edisto River site had the greatest median filtered methylmercury concentration, at 0.32 ng/L, and the Hudson River site had the least median filtered methylmercury concentration, at 0.07 ng/L.

New York, South Carolina↗

Spatial patterns of mercury in macroinvertebrates and fishes from streams of contrasting forested landscapes in the eastern United States

Controls on mercury bioaccumulation in lotic ecosystems are not well understood. During 2007&ndash;2009, we studied mercury and stable isotope spatial patterns of macroinvertebrates and fishes from two medium-sized (<80 km 2 ) forested basins in contrasting settings. Samples were collected seasonally from multiple sites across the Fishing Brook basin (FBNY), in New York's Adirondack Mountains, and the McTier Creek basin (MCSC), in South Carolina's Coastal Plain. Mean methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations within macroinvertebrate feeding groups, and mean total mercury (THg) concentrations within most fish feeding groups were similar between the two regions. However, mean THg concentrations in game fish and forage fish, overall, were much lower in FBNY (1300 and 590 ng/g dw, respectively) than in MCSC (2300 and 780 ng/g dw, respectively), due to lower trophic positions of these groups from FBNY (means 3.3 and 2.7, respectively) than MCSC (means 3.7 and 3.3, respectively). Much larger spatial variation in topography and water chemistry across FBNY contributed to greater spatial variation in biotic Hg and positive correlations with dissolved MeHg and organic carbon in streamwater. Hydrologic transport distance (HTD) was negatively correlated with biotic Hg across FBNY, and was a better predictor than wetland density. The small range of landscape conditions across MCSC resulted in no consistent spatial patterns, and no discernable correspondence with local-scale environmental factors. This study demonstrates the importance of local-scale environmental factors to mercury bioaccumulation in topographically heterogeneous landscapes, and provides evidence that food-chain length can be an important predictor of broad-scale differences in Hg bioaccumulation among streams.

New York, South Carolina↗

Spatial and seasonal variability of dissolved methylmercury in two stream basins in the Eastern United States

We assessed methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations across multiple ecological scales in the Edisto (South Carolina) and Upper Hudson (New York) River basins. Out-of-channel wetland/floodplain environments were primary sources of filtered MeHg (F-MeHg) to the stream habitat in both systems. Shallow, open-water areas in both basins exhibited low F-MeHg concentrations and decreasing F-MeHg mass flux. Downstream increases in out-of-channel wetlands/floodplains and the absence of impoundments result in high MeHg throughout the Edisto. Despite substantial wetlands coverage and elevated F-MeHg concentrations at the headwater margins, numerous impoundments on primary stream channels favor spatial variability and lower F-MeHg concentrations in the Upper Hudson. The results indicated that, even in geographically, climatically, and ecologically diverse streams, production in wetland/floodplain areas, hydrologic transport to the stream aquatic environment, and conservative/nonconservative attenuation processes in open water areas are fundamental controls on dissolved MeHg concentrations and, by extension, MeHg availability for potential biotic uptake.

New York, South Carolina↗

Total mercury, methylmercury, and selected elements in soils of the Fishing Brook watershed, Hamilton County, New York, and the McTier Creek watershed, Aiken County, South Carolina, 2008

Mercury is an element of on-going concern for human and aquatic health. Mercury sequestered in upland and wetland soils represents a source that may contribute to mercury contamination in sensitive ecosystems. An improved understanding of mercury cycling in stream ecosystems requires identification and quantification of mercury speciation and transport dynamics in upland and wetland soils within a watershed. This report presents data for soils collected in 2008 from two small watersheds in New York and South Carolina. In New York, 163 samples were taken from multiple depths or soil horizons at 70 separate locations near Fishing Brook, located in Hamilton County. At McTier Creek, in Aiken County, South Carolina, 81 samples from various soil horizons or soil depths were collected from 24 locations. Sample locations within each watershed were selected to characterize soil geochemistry in distinct land-cover compartments. Soils were analyzed for total mercury, selenium, total and carbonate carbon, and 42 other elements. A subset of the samples was also analyzed for methylmercury.

Data Series↗

Mercury cycling in stream ecosystems. 2. Benthic methylmercury production and bed sediment - Pore water partitioning

Mercury speciation, controls on methylmercury (MeHg) production, and bed sediment−pore water partitioning of total Hg (THg) and MeHg were examined in bed sediment from eight geochemically diverse streams where atmospheric deposition was the predominant Hg input. Across all streams, sediment THg concentrations were best described as a combined function of sediment percent fines (%fines; particles < 63 μm) and organic content. MeHg concentrations were best described as a combined function of organic content and the activity of the Hg(II)-methylating microbial community and were comparable to MeHg concentrations in streams with Hg inputs from industrial and mining sources. Whole sediment tin-reducible inorganic reactive Hg (Hg(II) R ) was used as a proxy measure for the Hg(II) pool available for microbial methylation. In conjunction with radiotracer-derived rate constants of 203 Hg(II) methylation, Hg(II) R was used to calculate MeHg production potential rates and to explain the spatial variability in MeHg concentration. The %Hg(II) R (of THg) was low (2.1 ± 5.7%) and was inversely related to both microbial sulfate reduction rates and sediment total reduced sulfur concentration. While sediment THg concentrations were higher in urban streams, %MeHg and %Hg(II) R were higher in nonurban streams. Sediment pore water distribution coefficients (log K d ’s) for both THg and MeHg were inversely related to the log-transformed ratio of pore water dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to bed sediment %fines. The stream with the highest drainage basin wetland density also had the highest pore water DOC concentration and the lowest log K d ’s for both THg and MeHg. No significant relationship existed between overlying water MeHg concentrations and those in bed sediment or pore water, suggesting upstream sources of MeHg production may be more important than local streambed production as a driver of water column MeHg concentration in drainage basins that receive Hg inputs primarily from atmospheric sources.

Environmental Science & Technology↗

Data on mercury in water, bed sediment, and fish from streams across the United States, 1998-2005

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) and Toxic Substances Hydrology Programs conducted the National Mercury Pilot Study in 1998 to examine relations of mercury (Hg) in water, bed sediment and fish in streams across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. Water and bed-sediment samples were analyzed for total Hg (THg), methylmercury (MeHg), and other constituents; fish were analyzed for THg. Similar sampling was conducted at additional streams across the country in 2002 and 2004-05. This report summarizes sample collection and processing protocols, analytical methods, environmental data, and quality-assurance data for stream water, bed sediment, and fish for these national studies. To extend the geographic coverage of the data, this report also includes four regional USGS Hg studies conducted during 1998-2001 and 2004. The environmental data for these national and regional Hg studies are provided in an electronic format.

Data Series↗

Mercury in fish, bed sediment, and water from streams across the United States, 1998-2005

Mercury (Hg) was examined in top-predator fish, bed sediment, and water from streams that spanned regional and national gradients of Hg source strength and other factors thought to influence methylmercury (MeHg) bioaccumulation. Sampled settings include stream basins that were agricultural, urbanized, undeveloped (forested, grassland, shrubland, and wetland land cover), and mined (for gold and Hg). Each site was sampled one time during seasonal low flow. Predator fish were targeted for collection, and composited samples of fish (primarily skin-off fillets) were analyzed for total Hg (THg), as most of the Hg found in fish tissue (95-99 percent) is MeHg. Samples of bed sediment and stream water were analyzed for THg, MeHg, and characteristics thought to affect Hg methylation, such as loss-on-ignition (LOI, a measure of organic matter content) and acid-volatile sulfide in bed sediment, and pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and dissolved sulfate in water. Fish-Hg concentrations at 27 percent of sampled sites exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency human-health criterion of 0.3 micrograms per gram wet weight. Exceedances were geographically widespread, although the study design targeted specific sites and fish species and sizes, so results do not represent a true nationwide percentage of exceedances. The highest THg concentrations in fish were from blackwater coastal-plain streams draining forests or wetlands in the eastern and southeastern United States, as well as from streams draining gold- or Hg-mined basins in the western United States (1.80 and 1.95 micrograms THg per gram wet weight, respectively). For unmined basins, length-normalized Hg concentrations in largemouth bass were significantly higher in fish from predominantly undeveloped or mixed-land-use basins compared to urban basins. Hg concentrations in largemouth bass from unmined basins were correlated positively with basin percentages of evergreen forest and also woody wetland, especially with increasing proximity of these two land-cover types to the sampling site; this underscores the greater likelihood for Hg bioaccumulation to occur in these types of settings. Increasing concentrations of MeHg in unfiltered stream water, and of bed-sediment MeHg normalized by LOI, and decreasing pH and dissolved sulfate were also important in explaining increasing Hg concentrations in largemouth bass. MeHg concentrations in bed sediment correlated positively with THg, LOI, and acid-volatile sulfide. Concentrations of MeHg in water correlated positively with DOC, ultraviolet absorbance, and THg in water, the percentage of MeHg in bed sediment, and the percentage of wetland in the basin.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

Impact of wildfire on levels of mercury in forested watershed systems: Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

Atmospheric deposition of mercury to remote lakes in mid-continental and eastern North America has increased approximately threefold since the mid-1800s (Swain and others, 1992; Fitzgerald and others, 1998; Engstrom and others, 2007). As a result, concerns for human and wildlife health related to mercury contamination have become widespread. Despite an apparent recent decline in atmospheric deposition of mercury in many areas of the Upper Midwest (Engstrom and Swain, 1997; Engstrom and others, 2007), lakes in which fish contain levels of mercury deemed unacceptable for human consumption and possibly unacceptable for fish-consuming wildlife are being detected with increasing frequency. In northern Minnesota, Voyageurs National Park (VNP) (fig. 1) protects a series of southern boreal lakes and wetlands situated on bedrock of the Precambrian Canadian Shield. Mercury contamination has become a significant resource issue within VNP as high concentrations of mercury in loons, bald eagle eaglets, grebes, northern pike, and other species of wildlife and fish have been found. The two most mercury-contaminated lakes in Minnesota, measured as methylmercury in northern pike ( Esox lucius ), are in VNP. Recent multidisciplinary U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research demonstrated that the bulk of the mercury in lake waters, soils, and fish in VNP results from atmospheric deposition (Wiener and others, 2006). The study by Wiener and others (2006) showed that the spatial distribution of mercury in watershed soils, lake waters, and age-1 yellow perch ( Perca flavescens ) within the Park was highly variable. The majority of factors correlated for this earlier study suggested that mercury concentrations in lake waters and age-1 yellow perch reflected the influence of ecosystem processes that affected within-lake microbial production and abundance of methylmercury (Wiener and others, 2006), while the distribution of mercury in watershed soils seemed to be partially dependent on forest disturbance, especially the historic forest fire pattern (Woodruff and Cannon, 2002). Forest fire has an essential role in the forest ecosystems of VNP (Heinselman, 1996). Because resource and land managers need to integrate both natural wildfire and prescribed fire in management plans, the potential influence of fire on an element as sensitive to the environment as mercury becomes a critical part of their decisionmaking. A number of recent studies have shown that while fire does have a significant impact on mercury at the landscape level, the observed effects of fire on aquatic environments are highly variable and unpredictable (Caldwell and others, 2000; Garcia and Carrigan, 2000; Kelly and others, 2006; Nelson and others, 2007). Caldwell and others (2000) described an increase in methylmercury in reservoir sediments resulting from mobilization and transport of charred vegetative matter following a fire in New Mexico. Krabbenhoft and Fink (2000) attributed increases in total mercury concentrations in young-of-the-year fish in the Florida Everglades to release of mercury resulting from peat oxidation following fires. A fivefold increase in whole-body mercury accumulation by rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) following a fire in Alberta, Canada, apparently resulted from increased nutrient concentrations that enhanced productivity and restructured the food web of a lake within the fire’s burn footprint (Kelly and others, 2006). For this study, we determined the short-term effects of forest fire on mercury concentrations in terrestrial and aquatic environments in VNP by comparing and contrasting mercury concentrations in forest soils, lake waters, and age-1 yellow perch for a burned watershed and an adjacent lake, with similar samples from watersheds and lakes with no fire activity (control watersheds and lakes). The concentration of total mercury in whole, 1-year-old yellow perch serves as a good biological indicator for monitoring trends in methylmercury concentrations in food webs of lakes in North America (Wiener and others, 2007). With a limited gape, age-1 yellow perch that hatched the previous year and resided in a lake for 1 year feed largely on zooplankton and small benthic invertebrates. Thus, age-1 yellow perch provide a baseline for methylmercury concentrations for individual lakes that can be compared across spatial areas. The nine appendixes that accompany this report contain the complete datasets for soils, lake waters, and age-1 yellow perch collected for this study. This report uses data from these three media to provide a framework for evaluating short-term effects of fire on mercury in forested soils and possible effects of the mobilization of mercury from soils on lake water quality and aquatic health.

Minnesota↗

Total Mercury, Methylmercury, and Ancillary Water-Quality and Streamflow Data for Selected Streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2002-06

Field and analytical methods, mercury and ancillary water-quality data, and associated quality-control data are reported for eight streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida from 2002 to 2006. The streams were sampled as part of a U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program study of mercury cycling, transport, and bioaccumulation in urban and nonurban stream ecosystems that receive mercury predominantly by way of atmospheric deposition.

Data Series↗

Total Mercury, Methylmercury, and Carbon and Nitrogen Stable Isotope Data for Biota from Selected Streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2002-04

The U.S. Geological Survey National Water-Quality Assessment Program conducted a multidisciplinary study to investigate the bioaccumulation of mercury from 2002 to 2004. Study areas were located in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida. Each study area included one urban site, and one or two nonurban sites that had the following attributes: high-percent wetland or low-percent wetland. Periphyton, macroinvertebrates, and forage fish were collected twice per year (during 2003 and 2004) to capture seasonality. Top predators, specifically largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), brown trout (Salmo trutta), and cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii), were collected once per year (Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida in 2003; Florida only in 2004). All biota were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic category and were analyzed for mercury and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Periphyton and invertebrates were analyzed for total mercury and methylmercury; fish were analyzed for total mercury only. This report presents (1) methodology and data on mercury, methylmercury, stable isotopes, and (2) other ecologically relevant measurements in biological tissues of periphyton, invertebrates, forage fish, and predator fish.

Data Series↗

Total mercury, methylmercury, methylmercury production potential, and ancillary streambed-sediment and pore-water data for selected streams in Oregon, Wisconsin, and Florida, 2003-04

Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. Detailed information on mercury cycling and food-web bioaccumulation in stream settings and the factors that control these processes is currently limited. In response, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA) conducted detailed studies from 2002 to 2006 on various media to enhance process-level understanding of mercury contamination, biogeochemical cycling, and trophic transfer. Eight streams were sampled for this study: two streams in Oregon, and three streams each in Wisconsin and Florida. Streambed-sediment and pore-water samples were collected between February 2003 and September 2004. This report summarizes the suite of geochemical and microbial constituents measured, the analytical methods used, and provides the raw data in electronic form for both bed-sediment and pore-water media associated with this study.

Oregon, Wisconsin, Florida↗

Procedures for Collecting and Processing Aquatic Invertebrates and Fish for Analysis of Mercury as Part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Mercury studies conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program have included nationwide reconnaissance samplings of hundreds of stream sites, as well as detailed, process-oriented research at selected sites. These reconnaissance and detailed studies are intended to provide a better understanding of methylmercury bioaccumulation in stream ecosystems over a range of environmental settings. This publication describes trace-element-clean techniques used for collection and processing of aquatic invertebrates and fish to be analyzed for total mercury, methylmercury, and stable isotopes as part of NAWQA studies.

Open-File Report↗

Procedures for collecting and processing streambed sediment and pore water for analysis of mercury as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Program

Mercury (Hg) contamination is an issue of national concern, affecting both wildlife and human health. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program, in association with the USGS Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and the USGS National Research Program, has initiated two levels of studies to investigate Hg contamination of the Nation's streams: reconnaissance and detailed studies. Reconnaissance studies entailed one-time sampling events at 266 stream sites across the Nation. Detailed studies entailed intensive spatial and temporal sampling of a small number of streams across the Nation in an effort to develop a more complete, process-level understanding of benthic Hg geochemistry and the underlying factors controlling it. This report summarizes the sampling methods used for the collection and processing of streambed sediment and pore water in association with both of these study levels. Bed-sediment characteristics, such as organic content and grain size, strongly influence Hg geochemistry; detailed characterization of these constituents within a stream reach will allow for the extrapolation of related Hg biogeochemical constituents to the reach scale.

Open-File Report↗

Spatial variations in fish-tissue mercury concentrations in the St. Croix River basin, Minnesota and Wisconsin, 2004

Parts of the St. Croix River in Minnesota and Wisconsin are under fish-consumption advisories because of elevated mercury concentrations that have been measured in fish from this river. The U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, and the University of Wisconsin, LaCrosse, cooperated in a study to determine the spatial variation of mercury in fish in the St. Croix River and selected tributaries. Game and nongame fish were collected at 14 sites during summer 2004 and identified to species. One hundred ninety-three (193) composite tissue samples were analyzed for total mercury as whole fish, skin-on fillet, or skin-off fillet. A model of mercury in fish was used to standardize fish-tissue mercury concentrations to a common species, tissues sampled, and length of fish allowing for more consistent comparisons among sites. Rush Creek near Rush City, Minnesota, was identified as having high median standardized fish-tissue mercury concentrations compared to other tributaries sampled. Previous studies identified Rush Creek as having high concentrations of methylmercury in water and high concentrations of total mercury in sediment when compared to other sites in the St. Croix River Basin. Sites in the St. Croix River Basin that drained forest/wetland watersheds had significantly higher median fish-tissue mercury concentrations than sites draining agricultural/forested watersheds (p=0.0003). There also was a significant relation between fish-tissue mercury concentration and methylmercury concentration in water (rho=0.580, p=0.02) and between fish-tissue mercury and total mercury in sediment (rho=0.569, p=0.03). Observed fish-tissue mercury concentrations exceeding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency&rsquo;s (USEPA) human-health criterion of 300 micrograms per kilogram occurred at 7 of the 14 sampling sites. The model predicted concentrations exceeding USEPA&rsquo;s criterion at all of the seven sites where exceedances were observed and four of the seven sites where exceedances were not observed. The implication is that fish-consumption advisories that are based on observed concentrations (of a subset of the species that occur at the site or smaller fish) could underestimate the threat to human health. Using the model to predict fish-tissue mercury concentrations allows site-specific fish-consumption advisories to be developed for multiple species and different lengths of fish. Potential mercury exposure to fish consumers may be reduced because an individual can choose to consume sizes and species of fish that are expected to have lower fish-tissue mercury concentrations. The National Park Service can use these results to more reliably monitor fish-tissue mercury concentrations in the St. Croix River Basin and better assess potential health effects of fish consumption to humans and wildlife.

Minnesota, Wisconsin↗

Chapter A5. Section 6.4.B. Low-Level Mercury

Collecting and processing water samples for analysis of mercury at a low (subnanogram per liter) level requires use of ultratrace-level techniques for equipment cleaning, sample collection, and sample processing. Established techniques and associated quality-assurance (QA) procedures for the collection and processing of water samples for trace-element analysis at the part-per-billion level (NFM 3-5) are not adequate for low-level mercury samples. Modifications to the part-per-billion procedures are necessary to minimize contamination of samples at a typical ambient mercury concentration, which commonly is at the subnanogram-per-liter level.

Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations↗

Mercury in stream ecosystems -- New studies initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey

Mercury can adversely affect humans and wildlife through consumption of contaminated fish, particularly by sensitive individuals, such as children and women of childbearing age. Mercury is currently the leading cause of impairment in the Nation&rsquo;s estuaries and lakes and was cited in nearly 80 percent of fish-consumption advisories (2,242 of 2,838) reported by states in 2000. The geographic extent of mercury advisories covers more than 10 million acres of lakes and more than 400,000 stream miles&mdash;increases of about 7 and 48 percent, respectively, over advisories reported in 1998 (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2002a).

Fact Sheet↗

Mercury data from small lakes in Voyageurs National Park, northern Minnesota, 2000-02

Mercury contamination of aquatic ecosystems is a resource concern in Voyageurs National Park. High concentrations of mercury in fish pose a potential risk to organisms that consume large amounts of those fish. During 2000&ndash;02, the U.S. Geological Survey measured mercury in water collected from 20 lakes in Voyageurs National Park. Those lakes span a gradient in fish-mercury concentrations, and also span gradients in other environmental variables that are thought to influence mercury cycling. During 2001, near surface methylmercury concentrations ranged from below the method detection limit of 0.04 nanograms per liter (ng/L) to 0.41 ng/L. Near surface total mercury concentrations ranged from 0.34 ng/L to 3.74 ng/L. Hypolimnetic methylmercury ranged from below detection to 2.69 ng/L, and hypolimnetic total mercury concentrations ranged from 0.34 ng/L to 7.16 ng/L. During 2002, near surface methylmercury concentrations ranged from below the method detection limit to 0.46 ng/L, and near surface total mercury ranged from 0.34 ng/L to 4.81 ng/L.

Minnesota↗

Elemental chemistry of streambed sediments of the St. Croix River Basin, 2000

Streambed sediments from 30 sites in the St. Croix River Basin were analyzed for selected chemical elements. Possible occurrences of low-level contamination include: (1) elevated concentrations of arsenic, lead, silver, and to a lesser extent cadmium, copper, and mercury in the Namekagon River downstream of Hayward, Wisconsin; (2) elevated lead concentrations in the St. Croix River downstream of the Stillwater, Minnesota&mdash;Hudson, Wisconsin region; (3) slightly elevated concentrations of Arsenic, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Silver, Vanadium, and Zinc in the Kettle River downstream of Sandstone and Hinckley, Minnesota; (4) and substantially elevated mercury concentrations in Rush Creek downstream of Rush City, Minnesota. Elevated concentrations of copper, lead, and to a lesser extent cadmium, in Osceola Creek, downstream of Osceola, Wisconsin may be due to anthropogenic sources or contributions from bedrock that differs geochemically from sediments farther upstream. There does not appear to be large anthropogenic contributions of trace elements&mdash;above the background geochemical and atmospherically deposited levels&mdash;in the streams sampled for this study. Many of the elements appear to be associated with mineral sources. Concentrations of potentially toxic trace elements in the St. Croix River Basin generally were lower than concentrations associated with frequent adverse effects to aquatic biota. Exceptions were arsenic (7 of 30 samples) and mercury (1 of 30 samples).

Minnesota, Wisconsin↗