Abstract
Sediment cores and surface grab samples were collected throughout Onondaga Lake, New York, to determine the concentrations and distribution of mercury (Hg) in the sediments. Horizontal distribution patterns show the effect of sediment focusing and localized sources, with generally low Hg concentrations in the littoral zone sediments, higher concentrations in the profundal sediments, and highest concentrations near known sources of Hg. Several cores were dated and reflect historical loading patterns, with low-level increases in Hg concentration starting in the early 1800s and a large increase in 1947 and decrease in 1970 related to the local chloralkali industry. These cores indicate that Hg has low mobility in profundal sediments and that the contaminated sediments are effectively being buried.
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Klein, S.M., Jacobs, L.A. Distribution of mercury in the sediments of Onondaga Lake, N.Y.. Water Air Soil Pollut 80, 1035–1038 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01189761
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01189761