Mercury Research in the USGS

Announcements

• Recent and Upcoming Meetings
  • 2004 Mercury Workshop, Sponsored by the USGS, Eastern Region,
    August 17-18, 2004
  • 7th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant, Ljubliana, Slovenia,
    June 27-July 2, 2004
• Mercury Roundtable
  • About the Mercury Roundtable
  • Mercury Roundtables, Past and Future

Science Activities

• USGS Mercury Activities [PDF Format] or [XLS Format]
  

  • Sources of Mercury: Contributions from Natural and Anthropogenic Sources
  • Biogeochemical cycling to predict what ecosystems will have high biaccumulation and net mercury methylation rate
  • Toxic effects, and associated bioaccumulation studies
    
  • National/Regional-scale assessments
    
  • Identification of management options and areas where management would be effective
    
• International Activities - METAALICUS

Further information on Mercury

Publications

• New Publications
  • The Materials Flow of Mercury in the Economies of the United States and the World
• EPA Mercury Report to Congress
• Factsheet
  • Mercury in the Environment
• Miscellaneous Field Studies Map
  • Distribution of a Suite of Elements Including Arsenic and Mercury in Alabama Coal (MF-2333)
• Statistics and Information
• Selected USGS Publications - Reference List

Links to Programs and Agencies

• USGS Programs that Support Mercury Science
• Information from Other Agencies
• Mercury Related EPA Websites

Why study mercury?

• Mercury is a widespread contaminant
• Advisories against consumption of fish because of mercury contamination are widespread.
• Mercury contamination is increasing
• Regulation of mercury requires better information
• Many scientific questions remain to be answered before scientists will be able predict how mercury will affect the environment.

The USGS Role

Improved information on mercury sources, cycling and toxicity will help land and resource managers understand what can be done to reduce mercury hazards to people and the environment. The large geographic scope and consequences of mercury contamination, and enormous complexity of the problem require a scientific approach that integrates many scientific disciplines. USGS investigations provide information to guide environmental planning and management. This information helps managers reduce mercury contamination of our biological resources and the associated threats to humans and wildlife.

In the last five years there have been growing efforts to strengthen the coordination between scientists working on mercury in the USGS. Through USGS workshops and meetings, scientists have assembled the scientific substance for the development of a research agenda that is nearing completion. The agenda identifies research that is needed to move forward the state of the art and to answer fundamental management questions regarding mercury hazards and risks.