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Mercury And Methylmercury Concentrations And Loads In The Cache Creek Watershed, California, Joseph L. Domagalski, Charles N. Alpers, Darell G. Slotton, Thomas H. Suchanek, Shaun M. Ayers

United States Geological Survey: Staff Publications

Concentrations and loads of total mercury and methylmercury were measured in streams draining abandoned mercury mines and in the proximity of geothermal discharge in the Cache Creek watershed of California during a 17-month period from January 2000 through May 2001. Rainfall and runoff were lower than long-term averages during the study period. The greatest loading of mercury and methylmercury from upstream sources to downstream receiving waters, such as San Francisco Bay, generally occurred during or after winter rainfall events. During the study period, loads of mercury and methylmercury from geothermal sources tended to be greater than those from abandoned mining …