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Mercury Sources to Lake Ozette and Lake Dickey: Highly Contaminated Remote Coastal Lakes, Washington State, USA

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Abstract

Mercury concentrations in largemouth bass and mercury accumulation rates in age-dated sediment cores were examined at Lake Ozette and Lake Dickey in Washington State. Goals of the study were to compare concentrations in fish tissues at the two lakes with a larger statewide dataset and examine mercury pathways to the lakes. After accounting for fish length, tissue concentrations at the lakes were significantly higher than other Washington State lakes. Wet deposition and historical atmospheric monitoring from the area show no indication of enhanced local or regional deposition. Sediment core records from the lakes indicate rising sedimentation rates coinciding with logging in the lakes’ drainages has greatly increased the net flux of mercury to the waterbodies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the following individuals for their assistance in completing this study: Valerie Partridge, Callie Meredith, Michael Friese, Dale Norton, Randy Coots, Art Johnson, Sara Sekerak, and Dean Momohara with the Washington State Department of Ecology, Amy Lavoie with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Oscar Pancorbo and Carol Batdorf at the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The use of brand names within the report are for informational purposes only and do not represent an endorsement of products by the Washington State Department of Ecology or U.S. Geological Survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington State Department of Ecology, 300 Desmond Dr., Olympia, WA, 98504, USA

    Chad Van Furl

  2. U. S. Geological Survey, 10 Bearfoot Road, Northborough, MA, USA

    John A. Colman

  3. U. S. Geological Survey, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA, USA

    Michael H. Bothner

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  1. Chad Van Furl
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  2. John A. Colman
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  3. Michael H. Bothner
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Correspondence to Chad Van Furl.

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Van Furl, C., Colman, J.A. & Bothner, M.H. Mercury Sources to Lake Ozette and Lake Dickey: Highly Contaminated Remote Coastal Lakes, Washington State, USA. Water Air Soil Pollut 208, 275–286 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-009-0165-y

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