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Mark E Brigham

Mark Brigham is a Scientis Emeritus with the Upper Midwest Water Science Center.

I received a B.A. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Civil Engineering, both from the University of Minnesota. My Master’s thesis research examined historical patterns of mercury deposition using lake sediment cores, and other aspects of aquatic mercury cycling.  I joined the U.S. Geological Survey in 1991, and worked for several years assessing water quality in the Red River of the North Basin.  I then shifted back to mercury, examining methylmercury occurrence in impoundments and other waters of the Red River Basin; small lakes in Voyageurs National Park; streams in the St. Croix River Basin; coordinated mercury studies for the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Water-Quality Assessment Program; and examined trends in wet deposition of mercury across the U.S.   

 

Work experience:

September 2018 – present: Supervisory Hydrologist, Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Mounds View, MN. 

July 2016 – September 2018: Supervisory Hydrologist and Section Chief, Investigations Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Water Science Center. Direct water resources investigations program with a total budget of over $4 million. Review schedules, work plans, budgets, and priorities of staff within the section; meet with State and local agency officials; and supervise senior hydrologists and Team Leads within the section.

January 2016 – July 2016: acting Section Chief, Investigations Section, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Water Science Center.

2013-2016: Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Water Science Center. Working on variety of water-resources projects, including trend analysis of mercury in Voyageurs National Park.

2001-2013:  Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Water Science Center, and coordinator for Mercury in Stream Ecosystems studies for the National Water-Quality Assessment program. Responsible for coordinating collaborative team of internal (USGS) and external scientists; development of study objectives; study design (including water-quality sampling design and quality assurance program); and communicating results through publication of interpretive reports and presentations to diverse audiences. 

1991-2001:  Environmental Engineer, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Water Science Center.  Studied mercury and methylmercury levels in flood-control impoundments and natural waters; and sediment sources to a stream in an agricultural basin.  Both studies are in the Red River of the North Basin.  From 1999-2001 I was a member of National water-quality users group, reviewing implementation of the World Wide Web interface to the USGS water-quality data base.  From 1991-97, worked on Red River of the North National Water Quality Assessment project.  Water-quality specialist on a multidisciplinary team (surface-water, ground-water, and aquatic biology). Study focused on human effects on water quality, especially nutrients and pesticides in water

Science and Products

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Dragonfly

Long-Term Monitoring Reveals How Water and Biota in Remote Lakes Respond Differently to Changes in Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury

A comparison of regional mercury atmospheric deposition data with water, yellow perch, and dragonfly larvae samples from lakes in Voyageurs National Park indicates that decreases in mercury emissions resulted in mercury reduction in water from these remote lakes, but mercury declines in biota were significant in only one of three lakes, likely because resident biota integrate exposure over much...
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Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Long-Term Monitoring Reveals How Water and Biota in Remote Lakes Respond Differently to Changes in Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury

A comparison of regional mercury atmospheric deposition data with water, yellow perch, and dragonfly larvae samples from lakes in Voyageurs National Park indicates that decreases in mercury emissions resulted in mercury reduction in water from these remote lakes, but mercury declines in biota were significant in only one of three lakes, likely because resident biota integrate exposure over much...
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Thermoelectric power plant with cooling towers, smokestacks, and transmission towers

Mercury

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the human nervous system. Eating fish contaminated with mercury can cause serious harm to people and wildlife.
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Water Resources
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Mercury

Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that can affect the human nervous system. Eating fish contaminated with mercury can cause serious harm to people and wildlife.
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Burning coal for energy production contributes large amounts of mercury to the atmosphere

Comprehensive Assessment of Mercury in Streams Explains Major Sources, Cycling, and Effects

A new USGS report, Mercury in the Nation's Streams—Levels, Trends, and Implications, presents a comprehensive assessment of mercury contamination in streams across the United States. It highlights the importance of environmental processes, monitoring, and control strategies for understanding and reducing stream mercury levels. This report summarizes selected stream studies conducted by the U.S...
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Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Comprehensive Assessment of Mercury in Streams Explains Major Sources, Cycling, and Effects

A new USGS report, Mercury in the Nation's Streams—Levels, Trends, and Implications, presents a comprehensive assessment of mercury contamination in streams across the United States. It highlights the importance of environmental processes, monitoring, and control strategies for understanding and reducing stream mercury levels. This report summarizes selected stream studies conducted by the U.S...
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Voyageurs National Park

Complex Response to Decline in Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that mercury concentrations in shallow waters and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in fish in four lakes in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, were not consistent with decreases in the wet atmospheric deposition of mercury recorded at nearby monitoring stations for over a decade. Methylmercury is a toxic form of mercury (Hg) that accumulates and...
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Ecosystems, Contaminant Biology, Environmental Health Program, Toxic Substances Hydrology
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Complex Response to Decline in Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that mercury concentrations in shallow waters and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in fish in four lakes in Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, were not consistent with decreases in the wet atmospheric deposition of mercury recorded at nearby monitoring stations for over a decade. Methylmercury is a toxic form of mercury (Hg) that accumulates and...
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Chemicals of Emerging Concern in Water and Bottom Sediment in Great Lakes Tributaries, 2014 - Collection Methods, Analytical Methods, Quality Assurance Analyses, and Data

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and St. Cloud State University (SCSU), identified the occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in water and bottom sediment collected in 2014 at 65 sites throughout the Great Lakes Basin. The 2014 effort is part of a long-term study that began in 2010. Included in this directory are colle
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Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center
Filter Total Items: 44

Long-term trends in regional wet mercury deposition and lacustrine mercury concentrations in four lakes in Voyageurs National Park

Although anthropogenic mercury (Hg) releases to the environment have been substantially lowered in the United States and Canada since 1990, concerns remain for contamination in fish from remote lakes and rivers where atmospheric deposition is the predominant source of mercury. How have aquatic ecosystems responded? We report on one of the longest known multimedia data sets for mercury in atmospher
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Methylmercury-Total mercury ratios in predator and primary consumer insects from Adirondack streams (New York, USA)

Mercury (Hg) is a global pollutant that affects biota in remote settings due to atmospheric deposition of inorganic Hg, and its conversion to methylmercury (MeHg), the bioaccumulating and toxic form. Characterizing biotic MeHg is important for evaluating aquatic ecosystem responses to changes in Hg inputs. Aquatic insects possess many qualities desired for MeHg biomonitoring, but are not widely us
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Water Resources, New York Water Science Center

Drain tiles and groundwater resources: Understanding the relations

Executive SummaryDrainage for agricultural production over the past 150 years has been an integral component of human-driven change to Minnesota’s rural landscapes.Benefits of drainageHistorically, poorly drained soils across much of the State would often remain saturated or flooded after spring snowmelt, preventing timely farm operations such as tilling and planting crops (Arneman, 1963). Install
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Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Environmentally relevant chemical mixtures of concern in waters of United States tributaries to the Great Lakes

The North American Great Lakes are a vital natural resource that provide fish and wildlife habitat, as well as drinking water and waste assimilation services for millions of people. Tributaries to the Great Lakes receive chemical inputs from various point and nonpoint sources, and thus are expected to have complex mixtures of chemicals. However, our understanding of the co‐occurrence of specific c
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Water Resources, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: I. Patterns of occurrence

Human activities introduce a variety of chemicals to the Laurentian Great Lakes including pesticides, pharmaceuticals, flame retardants, plasticizers, and solvents (collectively referred to as contaminants of emerging concern or CECs) potentially threatening the vitality of these valuable ecosystems. We conducted a basin-wide study to identify the presence of CECs and other chemicals of interest i
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Water Resources, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Contaminants of emerging concern in tributaries to the Laurentian Great Lakes: II. Biological consequences of exposure

The Laurentian Great Lakes contain one fifth of the world’s surface freshwater and have been impacted by human activity since the Industrial Revolution. In addition to legacy contaminants, nitrification and invasive species, this aquatic ecosystem is also the recipient of Contaminants of Emerging Concern (CECs) with poorly understood biological consequences. In the current study, we documented the
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Water Resources, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Contaminants of emerging concern in the Great Lakes Basin: A report on sediment, water, and fish tissue chemistry collected in 2010-2012

Despite being detected at low levels in surface waters and sediments across the United States, contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) in the Great Lakes Basin are not well characterized in terms of spatial and temporal occurrence. Additionally, although the detrimental effects of exposure to CECs on fish and wildlife have been documented for many CECs in laboratory studies, we do not adequately u
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Ecosystems, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center

Lake levels and water quality in comparison to fish mercury body burdens, Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota, 2013–15

Within Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota, lake levels are controlled by a series of dams to support a variety of uses. Previous research indicates a link between these artificially maintained water levels, referred to as rule curves, and mercury concentrations in fish owing to the drying and rewetting of wetlands and other nearshore areas, which may release methylmercury into the water when inu
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Water Resources, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Trends in mercury wet deposition and mercury air concentrations across the U.S. and Canada

This study examined the spatial and temporal trends of mercury (Hg) in wet deposition and air concentrations in the United States (U.S.) and Canada between 1997 and 2013. Data were obtained from the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP) and Environment Canada monitoring networks, and other sources. Of the 19 sites with data records from 1997–2013, 53% had significant negative trends in Hg
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Water Resources, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, Upper Midwest Water Science Center

Hydraulic and biochemical gradients limit wetland mercury supply to an Adirondack stream

Net fluxes (change between upstream and downstream margins) for water, methylmercury (MeHg), total mercury (THg), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and chloride (Cl) were assessed twice in an Adirondack stream reach (Sixmile Brook, USA), to test the hypothesized importance of wetland-stream hydraulic and chemical gradients as fundamental controls on fluvial mercury (Hg) supply. The 500 m study reach
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Water Resources, Ecosystems, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Optimizing fish sampling for fish - mercury bioaccumulation factors

Fish Bioaccumulation Factors (BAFs; ratios of mercury (Hg) in fish (Hgfish) and water (Hgwater)) are used to develop Total Maximum Daily Load and water quality criteria for Hg-impaired waters. Both applications require representative Hgfish estimates and, thus, are sensitive to sampling and data-treatment methods. Data collected by fixed protocol from 11 streams in 5 states distributed across the
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Water Resources, Ecosystems, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)

Mercury and methylmercury stream concentrations in a Coastal Plain watershed: A multi-scale simulation analysis

Mercury is a ubiquitous global environmental toxicant responsible for most US fish advisories. Processes governing mercury concentrations in rivers and streams are not well understood, particularly at multiple spatial scales. We investigate how insights gained from reach-scale mercury data and model simulations can be applied at broader watershed scales using a spatially and temporally explicit wa
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Water Resources, Ecosystems, Toxic Substances Hydrology, Environmental Health Program, South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC)
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Long-Term Monitoring Reveals How Water and Biota in Remote Lakes Respond Differently to Changes in Atmospheric Deposition of Mercury

A comparison of regional mercury atmospheric deposition data with water, yellow perch, and dragonfly larvae samples from lakes in Voyageurs National...

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Decreased Pollution Has Mixed Effects on Minnesota Lakes

Methylmercury contamination is decreasing in some lakes in northern Minnesota as a result of reduced mercury pollution, according to a U.S. Geological...
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