Abstract
A partnership of federal and state agencies, tribes, industry, and scientists from academic research and environmental organizations is establishing a national, policy-relevant mercury monitoring network, called MercNet, to address key questions concerning changes in anthropogenic mercury emissions and deposition, associated linkages to ecosystem effects, and recovery from mercury contamination. This network would quantify mercury in the atmosphere, land, water, and biota in terrestrial, freshwater, and coastal ecosystems to provide a national scientific capability for evaluating the benefits and effectiveness of emission controls. Program development began with two workshops, convened to establish network goals, to select key indicators for monitoring, to propose a geographic network of monitoring sites, and to design a monitoring plan. MercNet relies strongly on multi-institutional partnerships to secure the capabilities and comprehensive data that are needed to develop, calibrate, and refine predictive mercury models and to guide effective management. Ongoing collaborative efforts include the: (1) development of regional multi-media databases on mercury in the Laurentian Great Lakes, northeastern United States, and eastern Canada; (2) syntheses and reporting of these data for the scientific and policy communities; and (3) evaluation of potential monitoring sites. The MercNet approach could be applied to the development of other monitoring programs, such as emerging efforts to monitor and assess global mercury emission controls.
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Acknowledgments
This work and preparation of this manuscript were supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, the Biodiversity Research Institute, the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Park Service, the National Atmospheric Deposition Program, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the Cherokee Nation, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. We appreciate the help of Maureen Hale, Kimberley Driscoll, and Ian Johnson for their assistance with maps and management of materials. This paper has not been subjected to U.S. EPA peer and administrative review; therefore, the conclusions and opinions contained herein are solely those of the authors, and should not be construed to reflect the views of the U.S. EPA.
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Schmeltz, D., Evers, D.C., Driscoll, C.T. et al. MercNet: a national monitoring network to assess responses to changing mercury emissions in the United States. Ecotoxicology 20, 1713–1725 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0756-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-011-0756-4