Examining historical mercury sources in the Saint Louis River estuary: How legacy contamination influences biological mercury levels in Great Lakes coastal regions.

ABSTRACT: Industrial chemical contamination within coastal regions of the Great Lakes can pose serious risks to wetland habitat and offshore fisheries, often resulting in fish consumption advisories that directly affect human and wildlife health. Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of concern in many of these highly urbanized and industrialized coastal regions, one of which is the Saint Louis River estuary (SLRE), the second largest tributary to Lake Superior. The SLRE has legacy Hg contamination that drives high Hg concentrations within sediments, but it is unclear whether legacy-derived Hg actively cycles within the food web. To understand the relative contributions of legacy versus contemporary Hg sources in coastal zones, Hg, carbon, and nitrogen stable isotope ratios were measured in sediments and fo

SUBMITTER: Janssen SE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9563104 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature