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Last updated: October 11, 2002
South Florida Restoration Science Forum

Mercury

Can Control of Local Mercury Sources Reduce the Risks?

Part 3: Sources of Mercury and Temporal Trends

photo of a storm
D. Scheidt, USEPA
  • Some mercury is carried long distances by global winds from pollution sources world wide
  • Mercury from this global pool deposits everywhere
  • One theory proposes that the heavy thunderstorms of South Florida may cause increased deposition to Everglades

The Policy Dilemma?

How much of the atmospheric mercury deposition to the Everglades is from:

Long Range Transport from Global Pollution VS. Local Sources in South Florida
Back photo of Florida from space
NASA image - click on photo above for full-sized version. 		Next

illustration of local mercury input
USEPA, FTN Assoc - click on image for full-sized version.
  • Local Sources emit mercury in forms that readily deposit by rainfall scavenging or dry deposition
  • Sufficient mercury is emitted locally to account for all mercury deposited in the Everglades
  • One theory proposes that most of Everglades mercury comes from sources in South Florida


Next Next: Photos


U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey, Center for Coastal Geology
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Last updated: 11 October, 2002 @ 09:42 PM (HSH)