The USGS is initiating a 5-year study, in cooperation with the Lake Champlain Basin Program, to determine the role of land use and stream hydrology on the mobility of mercury and methyl-mercury in the Lake Champlain Basin. Research will focus on developing a mercury mass balance for the Lake Champlain Basin, determining mercury methylation potential as a function of upstream land use, understanding mercury dynamics during high-flow events, and other controls on mercury transfers from the basin to the Lake.

Any linkages between mercury mobility and land-use practices will be used to identify potential approaches to the management of mercury contamination. The investigation will include synoptic sampling of tributary stream sediments, synoptic snowmelt surveys of stream waters, fixed-site stream monitoring, and intensive watershed investigations for targeted land uses.

--Jamie Shanley (802) 828-4466 or jshanley@usgs.gov

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