Resuspension of Mercury-Contaminated Sediments from an In-Lake Industrial Waste Deposit |
| |
Authors: | Emmet M. Owens Revital Bookman Steven W. Effler Charles T. Driscoll David A. Matthews Adam J. P. Effler |
| |
Affiliation: | 1Research Engineer, Upstate Freshwater Institute, P.O. Box 506, Syracuse, NY 13214 (corresponding author). E-mail: emowens@syr.edu 2Univ. of Haifa, Charney School of Marine Sci., Dr. Moses Strauss Dept. of Marine Geosci., Mt. Caramel, Haifa, Israel 31905. E-mail: bookman@sci.haifa.ac.il 3Director of Research, Upstate Freshwater Institute, P.O. Box 506, Syracuse, NY 13214. E-mail: sweffler@upstatefreshwater.org 4University Professor, Syracuse Univ., Syracuse, NY 13244. E-mail: ctdrisco@syr.edu 5Research Scientist, Upstate Freshwater Institute, P.O. Box 506, Syracuse, NY 13214. E-mail: damatthews@upstatefreshwater.org 6Research Scientist, Upstate Freshwater Institute, P.O. Box 506, Syracuse, NY 13214. E-mail: ajpeffler@upstatefreshwater.org
|
| |
Abstract: | The resuspension and transport of particulate mercury (HgP) from a nearshore industrial waste deposit to the pelagic zone of Onondaga Lake, N.Y., was investigated using an array of sediment traps radiating from the deposit, and quantified through application of a steady-state mass balance model. Time-averaged downward fluxes of suspended solids and HgP decreased in the offshore direction, indicating a nearshore source. Strong temporal variations in resuspension were documented and were linked to the dynamics of wind-driven wave action, as quantified by a validated surface wave model. A simple steady-state model of offshore transport from the resuspension zone, which assumes a balance between offshore transport and settling, was used to analyze sediment trap data. The resulting larger, and likely more accurate, estimate of HgP resuspension ( ~ 60?g?day?1) represents the dominant contemporary source to the water column. This result supports the planned remediation of this source as a part of a Superfund cleanup project. |
| |
Keywords: | Sediment Mercury Mass transport Industrial wastes Lakes |
|
|