Abstract
The purpose of this study was to gather information on the spatial and temporal variation of stream water total mercury concentrations ([THg]) and to test the hypothesis that stream water [THg] increases as stream pH decreases in the Shenandoah National Park (SNP). We based our hypothesis on studies in lakes that found mercury methylation increases with decreasing pH, and studies in streams that found total mercury and other trace metal concentrations increase with decreasing pH. Stream water was collected at baseflow in SNP in April, July, and October 2005 and February 2006. Contrary to our hypothesis, stream water [THg] decreased with decreasing pH and acid neutralizing capacity. In SNP, stream pH and acid neutralizing capacity are strongly influenced by bedrock geology. We found that bedrock also influences stream water [THg]. Streams on basaltic bedrock had higher [THg] (0.648 ng L−1 ± 0.39) than streams on siliciclastic bedrock (0.301 ng L−1 ± 0.10) and streams on granitic bedrock (0.522 ng L−1 ± 0.06). The higher pH streams on basaltic bedrock had the highest [THg]. The variation in stream water [THg] occurred despite no known variation in wet deposition of mercury across the SNP. The findings of this study indicate that the SNP can be an important area for mercury research with significant variations in mercury concentrations across the park.
References
Allan, C. J., & Heyes, A. (1998). A preliminary assessment of wet deposition and episodic transport of total and methyl mercury from low order Blue Ridge Watersheds, SE USA. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 105, 573–592. doi:10.1023/A:1004971824366.
Andersson, S., Nilsson, S. I., & Saetre, P. (2000). Leaching of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in mor humus as affected by temperature and pH. Soil Biology & Biochemistry, 32, 1–10. doi:10.1016/S0038-0717(99)00103-0.
Bank, M. S., Loftin, C. S., & Jung, R. E. (2005). Mercury bioaccumulation in northern two-lined salamanders from streams in the northeastern United States. Ecotoxicology (London, England), 14, 181–191. doi:10.1007/s10646-004-6268-8.
Bulger, A. J., Dolloff, C. A., Cosby, B. J., Eshleman, K. N., Webb, J. R., & Galloway, J. N. (1995). The “Shenandoah National Park: Fish in sensitive habitats” (SNP: fish) project. An integrated assessment of fish community responses to stream acidification. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 85, 309–314. doi:10.1007/BF00476847.
Castro, M. S., Hilderbrand, R. H., Thompson, J., Heft, A., & Rivers, S. E. (2007). Relationship between wetlands and mercury in brook trout. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 52, 97–103. doi:10.1007/s00244-006-0057-8.
Chen, C. Y., Stemberger, R. S., Kamman, N. C., Mayes, B. M., & Folt, C. L. (2005). Patterns of Hg bioaccumulation and transfer in aquatic food webs across multi-lake studies in the northeast US. Ecotoxicology (London, England), 14, 135–147. doi:10.1007/s10646-004-6265-y.
Driscoll, C. T., Blette, V., Yan, C., Schofield, C. L., Munson, R., & Holsapple, J. (1995). The role of dissolved organic-carbon in the chemistry and bioavailability of mercury in remote Adirondack Lakes. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 80, 499–508. doi:10.1007/BF01189700.
Driscoll, C. T., Yan, C., Schofield, C. L., Munson, R., & Holsapple, J. (1994). The mercury cycle and fish in the Adirondack Lakes. Environmental Science & Technology, 28, A136–A143. doi:10.1021/es00052a003.
Driscoll, C. T., Han, Y. J., Chen, C. Y., Evers, D. C., Lambert, K. F., Holsen, T. M., Kamman, N. C., & Munson, R. K. (2007). Mercury contamination in forest and freshwater ecosystems in the Northeastern United States. Bioscience, 57, 17–28. doi:10.1641/B570106.
Friske, P. W. B., & Coker, W. B. (1995). Importance of geological controls on the natural distribution of mercury in lake and stream sediments across Canada. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 80, 1047–1051. doi:10.1007/BF01189764.
Furman, T., Thompson, P., & Hatchl, B. (1998). Primary mineral weathering in the central Appalachians: A mass balance approach. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 62, 2889–2904. doi:10.1016/S0016-7037(98)00202-6.
Gabriel, M. C., & Williamson, D. G. (2004). Principal biogeochemical factors affecting the speciation and transport of mercury through the terrestrial environment. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 26, 421–434. doi:10.1007/s10653-004-1308-0.
Grigal, D. F. (2002). Inputs and outputs of mercury from terrestrial watersheds: a review. Environmental Review, 10, 1–39. doi:10.1139/a01-013.
Hyer, K. E., Webb, J. R., & Eshleman, K. N. (1995). Episodic acidification of three streams in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, USA. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 85, 523–528. doi:10.1007/BF00476882.
Kelly, C. A., Rudd, J. W. M., Louis, V. L., & Heyes, A. (1995). Is total mercury concentration a good predictor of methyl mercury concentration in aquatic systems. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 80, 715–724. doi:10.1007/BF01189723.
Mason, R. P., Laporte, J. M., & Andres, S. (2000). Factors controlling the bioaccumulation of mercury, methylmercury, arsenic, selenium, and cadmium by freshwater invertebrates and fish. Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, 38, 283–297. doi:10.1007/s002449910038.
Rasmussen, P. E. (1994). Current methods of estimating atmospheric mercury fluxes in remote areas. Environmental Science & Technology, 28, 2233–2241.
Schroeder, W. H., & Munthe, J. (1998). Atmospheric mercury—An overview. Atmospheric Environment, 32, 809–822. doi:10.1016/S1352-2310(97)00293-8.
USEPA (2002). Method 1631, revision E: Mercury in water by oxidation, purge, and trap, and cold vapor atomic fluorescence spectrometry. Washington, DC: USEPA.
Vesely, J., & Majer, V. (1996). The effect of pH and atmospheric deposition on concentrations of trace elements in acidified freshwaters: A statistical approach. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution, 88, 227–246. doi:10.1007/BF00294103.
Young, J., Fleming, G., Townsend, P., & Foster, J. (2006). Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients. Leetown: US Geological Survey, Leetown Science Center.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Moore, C.W., Cosby, B.J., Galloway, J.N. et al. Relationship Between pH and Stream Water Total Mercury Concentrations in Shenandoah National Park. Water Air Soil Pollut 201, 233–238 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9940-4
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-008-9940-4