Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Mercury Contamination Of Channel And Floodplain Sediments In Wilson Creek Watershed, Southwest Missouri, Willard E. Rodgers Ii

MSU Graduate Theses

Mercury (Hg) is a pollutant affecting aquatic environments and human health world wide. Sediments in urban streams can store Hg from historical industrial waste releases in channel and floodplain deposits. Subsequent erosion of these deposits can remobilize sediment-bound Hg impacting downstream receiving waters. This study describes the distribution of Hg in floodplain and channel sediments of Wilson Creek and its tributaries using geochemical sediment analysis and cesium-137 dating. The upper Wilson Creek watershed drains the southern two-thirds of Springfield, Missouri. Results indicate that Hg concentrations in overbank and active channel sediments along the entire stream length are elevated above the …