Water Resources Collections and Archives

In this study, I analyzed the impact of land-use on mercury and methylmercury in the San Francisco Bay area and I explored correlations of mercury and methylmercury with various water quality indicators using water and sediment quality data from the Regional Monitoring Program. To understand the relationships of land-use and water and sediment quality with mercury and methylmercury concentrations, I conducted a correlation coefficient analysis using Microsoft EXCEL 2007. In the San Joaquin Delta watershed and the Suisun Bay watershed, heavy metals showed strong relationship with methylmercury. Developed land uses such as industrial, commercial services and urban built-up had a strong relationship with methylmercury, while agricultural land uses generally had a negative relationship with methylmercury. Mercury and methylmercury had a strong positive relationship with clay, silt, and fine sand. Mercury had significant negative correlation with pH and significant positive correlation with silver. Methylmercury was strongly related to temperature and total nitrogen. Although underestimated in this study, strip mines had a fairly strong correlation with mercury, indicating that they may be a major source of mercury to the San Francisco Bay. Restoration efforts should target areas with developed land-use, high clay, silt, fine sand and heavy metals.