Mercury Concentrations in Waters, Seston, Mussels, Sediment from Lake Erie, 2024

As part of the larger Great Lakes Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) , the U.S. Geological Survey Mercury, Metals, and Microplastics Research Laboratory (USGS M3RL) completed a binational assessment partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation & Parks (OECP), University of Minnesota-Duluth Natural Resources Research Institute (UM NRRI), and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (NOAA-GLERL), to assess contaminant concentrations within surface waters, surface sediment, seston, and mussels within Lake Erie. All matrices were assessed for mercury and methylmercury concentrations to examine spatial trends of mercury within the lakes. Sediment samples were also analyzed for total mercury stable isotope composition to approximate sources of mercury contamination to the lake.