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Science Lecture by Elizabeth Malcolm |
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Date: May 2, 2007
Time: 10:30am
Location: NIA, Rm 137
Additional Information: Speaker Bio | Presentation (.pdf)
The Environmental Cycle of Mercury: From the Atmosphere to the Ocean
Elizabeth Malcolm, Virginia Wesleyan College
Today mercury (Hg) is a pollutant of great concern due to its widespread contamination and neurotoxic effects. Many inland and coastal watersheds have fish consumption advisories due to this heavy metal. The source of mercury to many of these ecosystems is atmospheric emissions from local, regional, and global sources. In this talk I will present experimental results on the atmospheric transformations and deposition of mercury, and investigations of mercury in marine waters. The first study is an investigation of the interaction of sea salt aerosols with gaseous mercury compounds testing the hypothesis that adsorption of mercury to sea salt will enhance deposition of mercury in coastal environments. The second looks at the impact of “green” or vegetated roofs on mercury in stormwater runoff. The last study is an investigation of possible bacterial methylation of mercury in the ocean, with implications for sources of mercury to marine fish.
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