Abstract
A mechanistic model of mercury cycling was applied to an Everglades marsh to help assess the role of sulfate on methylmercury concentrations in surface waters. The Everglades Mercury Cycling Model (E-MCM) was applied to site 3A-15, located in the interior of Water Conservation Area 3A. This site experienced declines in fish mercury and water column sulfate concentrations during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The model analysis focused on 1995–2003, but simulations began earlier to accommodate the potential for pre-1995 conditions to affect mercury concentrations afterwards. Simulations assuming sulfate affected methylation matched the observed decline in methylmercury in surface waters better than simulations with no sulfate effect. The analysis also suggested other factors may have contributed to the decline of surface water methylmercury concentrations at 3A-15, including potential legacy effects of mercury loads to the marsh prior to 1995, and changes to other water quality conditions. Greater confidence is assigned to the predicted effect of declining sulfate than changes in atmospheric mercury deposition, because deposition rates prior to 1996 were constructed using indirect means, and the duration of legacy effects is uncertain.
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Harris, R.C., Hutchinson, D., Pollman, C.D., Beals, D. (2020). Simulating Mercury Cycling in the Florida Everglades: A Case Study. In: Pollman, C.D., Axelrad, D.M., Rumbold, D.G. (eds) Mercury and the Everglades. A Synthesis and Model for Complex Ecosystem Restoration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-55635-8_4
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