PubTalk 6/2009 — Tracking Mercury from Ore to Organism

Mercury Cycling and Bioaccumulation In a Mine-Dominated Ecosystem

By Tom Suchanek, USGS Western Ecological Research Center

• Nearly 300 abandoned mercury mines and prospects are found in the California Coast Range-- the Sulphur Bank Mercury Mine at Clear Lake, CA is one of them
• Clear Lake is one of the most mercury-contaminated lakes in the world, but fish and wildlife there are not as mercury-contaminated as might be expected
• Learn about mercury concentration in the Clear Lake water column and sediments, mercury bioaccumulation in the food web, and which fish have mercury-contamination that exceeds recommended levels for consumption