Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Rama Kotra Larry P. Gough Publication_Date: 2000 Title: Geochemical Processes in Organic-rich Sediments of South Florida - Mercury and Metals Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Online_Linkage: http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/merc_metals/ Description: Abstract: Human activities have led to the deterioration of the productivity, biodiversity, and stability of the south Florida ecosystem. The fate of anthropogenic contaminants incorporated into the organic-rich sediments is not fully understood. Physical, chemical, and biological processes may remobilize some of the contaminants and reintroduce them into water, atmosphere, and the biological community. Other contaminants may be transformed during diagenesis and remain in surficial materials until the system is disturbed. This project examined the occurrence and cycling of mercury and metals in organic-rich sediments, pore fluids, and plants at selected sites in south Florida. Purpose: An understanding of the relationship between diagenesis, concentration, speciation, and historical variation of elements of environmental significance is essential for planners in developing long-term remediation and management strategies for wetlands of south Florida. A better understanding of the controls on the cycling of these elements is critical for making informed decisions regarding the regulation of water levels and anticipating the effect of water regulation. Supplemental_Information: This project was part of the Aquatic Cycling of Mercury in the Everglades (ACME) project which has become Integrated Geochemical Studies in the Everglades Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 199610 Ending_Date: 199809 Currentness_Reference: ground condition Status: Progress: Complete Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned Spatial_Domain: Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -81.25 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -80.3 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 26.6 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 24.75 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: none Theme_Keyword: mercury Theme_Keyword: biogeochemistry Theme_Keyword: mercury cycling Theme_Keyword: peat Theme_Keyword: sawgrass Theme_Keyword: trace elements Theme_Keyword: biology Theme_Keyword: hydrology Theme_Keyword: chemistry Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category Theme_Keyword: biota Theme_Keyword: environment Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation Theme_Keyword: inlandWaters Theme_Keyword: imageryBaseMapsEarthCover Theme_Keyword: 002 Theme_Keyword: 007 Theme_Keyword: 008 Theme_Keyword: 012 Theme_Keyword: 010 Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Department of Commerce, 1995, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions, Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4, Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology Place_Keyword: United States Place_Keyword: US Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas of the United States, and associated areas (Federal Information Processing Standard 5-2): Washington, D. C., NIST Place_Keyword: Florida Place_Keyword: FL Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, FIPS 6-3, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology Place_Keyword: Collier County Place_Keyword: Broward County Place_Keyword: Miami-Dade County Place_Keyword: Monroe County Place_Keyword: Palm Beach County Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Geographic Names Information System Place_Keyword: Shark River Slough Place_Keyword: Taylor Slough Place_Keyword: Lake Okeechobee Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: none Place_Keyword: Central Everglades Place_Keyword: Greater Lake Okeechobee Place_Keyword: SW Big Cypress Access_Constraints: none Use_Constraints: none Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Rama Kotra Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Project chief Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: 911 National Center City: Reston State_or_Province: VA Postal_Code: 20192 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 703 648 6271 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 703 648 6383 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: rkotra@usgs.gov Browse_Graphic: Browse_Graphic_File_Name: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/00-327/intro.html Browse_Graphic_File_Description: the South Florida ACME study area Browse_Graphic_File_Type: GIF Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Gough, L. P. Kotra, R. K.; Holmes, C. W.; Orem, W. H.; Hageman, P. L.; Briggs, P. H.; Meier, A. L.; Borwn, Z. A. Publication_Date: 2000 Title: Regional Geochemistry of Metals in Organic-Rich Sediments, Sawgrass and Surface Water, from Taylor Slough, Florida Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: OFR 00-327 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: U.S. Geological Survey Publisher: Reston, VA Online_Linkage: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/00-327/ Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Arbogast, B. F., editor Publication_Date: 1996 Title: Analytical methods manual for the Mineral Resource Surveys Program, U.S. Geological Survey Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: manual Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 86-525 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr96525 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Balistrieri, L. S. Gough, L. P.; Severson, R. C.; Montour, M. R.; Briggs, P. H.; Adrian, B. M.; Curry, K. J.; Fey, D. L.; Hageman, P. L.; Papp, C. S. Publication_Date: 1995 Title: The effect of acidic, metal-enriched drainage from the Wightman Fork and Alamosa River i=on the composition of selected wetlands in San Luis Valley, Colorado Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 95-568 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Denver, CO Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr95568 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Charles W. Holmes Publication_Date: 1998 Title: Short-Lived Isotopic Chronometers Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: fact sheet Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Fact Sheet Issue_Identification: 73-98 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, Florida Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/fs/73-98 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Jackson, L. L. Engleman, E. E.; Peard, J. L. Publication_Date: 1985 Title: Determination of total sulfur in lichens and plants by combustion-infrared analysis Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: Environmental Science & Technology Issue_Identification: v. 19, issue 5 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Washington, DC Publisher: American Chemical Society Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Kennedy, K. R. Crock, J. G. Publication_Date: 1987 Title: Determination of mercury in geological materials by continuous-flow, cold-vapor, atomic absorption spectrophotometry Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: Analytical Letters Issue_Identification: v. 20 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Philadelphia, PA Publisher: Taylor & Francis Inc. Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Arbogast, B. F., editor Publication_Date: 1990 Title: Quality Assurance manual for the Branch of Geochemistry, U.S. Geological Survey Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: manual Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 90-668 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: unknown Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr90668 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Lichte, F. E. Meier, A. L.; Crock, J. G. Publication_Date: 1986 Title: Determination of the rare earth elements in geologic materials by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: Analytical Chemistry Issue_Identification: v. 59, no. 8 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Washington, DC Publisher: American Chemical Society Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Meier, A. Grimes, D. J.; Ficklin,. W. H. Publication_Date: 1994 Title: Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry - a powerful tool for mineral resource and environmental suudies Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Circular Issue_Identification: 1103A Publication_Information: Publication_Place: unknown Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Other_Citation_Details: in USGS Research on Mineral Resources - 1994, Part A - Program and Abstracts; carter, L. M. H.; Toth, M. I.; and Day, W. C., editors Online_Linkage: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/cir/cir1103A Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Gough, L. P. Crock, J. G. Publication_Date: 1997 Title: Distinguishing between natural geologic and anthropogenic trace element sources, Denali National Park and Preserve Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Professional Paper Issue_Identification: 1574 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: unknown Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Other_Citation_Details: in Geologic Studies in Alaska by the U.S. Geological Survey, 1995; Dumoulin, J. A. And Gray, J. E., editors Online_Linkage: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/pp/pp1574 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Orem, W. H. Lerch, H. E.; Rawlik, P. Publication_Date: 1997 Title: Geochemistry of surface and pore water at USGS coring sites in wetlands of South Florida, 1994 and 1995 Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 97-454 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/97-454 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Orem, W. H. Bates, A. L.; Lerch, H. E.; Corum, M.; Boylan, A. Publication_Date: 1999 Title: Sulfur contamination in the Everglades and its relation to mercury methylation Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 99-181 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://fl.water.usgs.gov/Abstracts/ofr99_181_gerould.html Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Lichte, F. E. Golightly, D. W.; Lamother, P. J. Publication_Date: 1987 Title: Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: book chapter Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Bulletin Issue_Identification: 1770 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Other_Citation_Details: in Methods of Geochemical Analysis; Baedecker, P. A., ed. Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Gough, L. P. Kotra, R. K.; Holmes, C. W.; Briggs. P. H.; Crock, J. G.; Fey, D. L.; Hageman, P. L.; Meier, A. L. Publication_Date: 1996 Title: Chemical analysis results for mercury and trace elements in vegetation, water, and organic-rich sediments, south Florida Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: report Series_Information: Series_Name: USGS Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 96-91 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: unknown Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/usgspubs/ofr/ofr9691 Data_Quality_Information: Logical_Consistency_Report: not applicable Completeness_Report: not available Lineage: Process_Step: Process_Description: Sampling sites: Field work was conducted from May 17-24, 1996 in Taylor Slough. Information collected included the site no., field ID, latitude, longitude, sample type, date collected, and general comments. May is the end of the dry season and usually allows for ready access to sediment sampling sites because of generally low water levels; however, during May 1996 relatively deep standing water was encountered. Field collections: Water - Surface water samples, analyzed for major and trace elements (except Hg), were collected in field-rinsed 1 L polyethylene bottles and transferred via filtration in the field (by passing through pre-rinsed cellulose acetate 0.45 micron membranes) to acid-washed and field-rinsed 250 ml bottles. Element stability was assured by the addition of 10 drops of concentrated, ultra-pure nitric acid. Samples collected for Hg analyses were taken from the same 1 L bottle. The samples were filtered as above and 30 ml was added to glass, oven-baked bottles with teflon-coated lids. Mercury stability was assured by the addition of 1.5 ml of sodium dichromate/nitric acid. Vegetation - The vegetation component of the biogeochemical cycling of trace elements was investigated using sawgrass (Cladium jamaicensis Crantz), the dominant species in the Everglades marsh. In addition, bromeliads (Tillandsia spp, also known as air plants) were collected when available because of their ability to concentrate airborne metals and therefore act as air quality monitors. Data for the air plant samples are reported in Gough and others, 1996, OFR 96-91. Sawgrass leaves (about 200 g, dry weight) were clipped using stainless steel shears at about 10 cm above the high water level. Flowering structures, if present, were removed. Samples consisted of a composite of four individual plants collected within three meters of the site where the core material was taken. The material was double sealed in plastic bags and chilled using "wet ice". Sawgrass roots consisted of the material below the sediment level for each sawgrass clump. This usually consisted of the basal protion below the meristem that contains the major rhizomes (but not the fibrous "feeder" roots). The material was field rinsed, double sealed in plastic bags, and chilled using "wet ice". Organic-rich sediments - Sediment cores were obtained by pushing a piston-sealed, 10.2 cm diameter, acrylic butyrate core liner into the sediment using the method described in Orem and others, 1997, OFR 97-454. Usually greater than 60 cm of sediment were collected in the core liner at the sites. The cores were maintained in an upright position until they were extruded and sectioned, usually within 8 hours of collection. All sediment samples were placed in plastic bags, chilled, and shipped to the laboratory where they were frozen. Detailed discussions of sample preparation and analyses for water, plant, and sediment samples can be found in Arbogast, 1996, Gough and Crock, 1997, Holmes, 1998, Lichte and others, 1986, and Orem and others, 1999. In the laboratory, sawgrass was removed from the sample bags, placed in Teflon beakers, submerged and rinsed in deionized water, and drained. This process was repeated at least three times. Plant material was then placed in plastic colanders, rinsed briefly with deionized water, and allowed to drip drain. Colanders were then placed directly into ovens and the material was dried for 24 hr. at about 40 deg. C. This temperature is near the maximum summer ambient field temperature and should not result in any important loss of Hg through volatilization. Samples were then ground in a Wiley mill to pass a 2-mm (10-mesh) sieve. Splits of the ground plant material were ashed at 450-500 deg. C over an 18 hr. period and ash yield was determined. In order to insure adequate material and sample type for the various analyses conducted, replicate cores were commonly extracted from each study site. The cores used for the geochronology studies (210Pb analyses) and pore water chemistry were sectioned (extracted) at 2 cm intervals whereas the cores used in the trace metal geochemical studies were sectioned at 5 cm intervals. Because most core material below about 40 cm was several hundred years old, the interval for sectioning commonly increased to 5 or 10 cm for all cores. This was performed in order to economize on the total number of samples being analyzed. For element analyses, subsets of the sediment core sections were dried, ground, and ashed in a manner similar to the plant samples (Arbogast, 1990; Balistrieri and others, 1995). For details on the 210Pb sediment dating method see Holmes (1998). One hundred milligrams of plant and sediment sample ash was digested with mixed acids. After complete digestion of the ash, 40 major and trace elements were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) (Lichte and others, 1987). Mercury was determined directly on a subset of the dried, ground, unashed plant and sediment material by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS)(Kennedy and Crock, 1987). Total sulfur was determined in plant samples only on 250 mg of the ground material by combustion at 1370 deg. C in an oxygen atmosphere with infrared detection of evolved SO2 (Jackson and other, 1985). Water samples were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (Meier and others, 1994; Arbogast, 1996). The element analyses (except for Hg) for the sediment material were all performed in a non-government contract laboratory. Analyses for plant material and water were performed by the Denver Laboratories of the USGS. Blind standard reference materials were submitted to the laboratories as part of each suite of samples. This included material from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Bureau of Standards (NBS), and from internal USGS prepared materials. In addition, some of the material was sampled twice in the field (identified by a "Y"), and split in the laboratory for duplicate analysis (identified by an "X"). Process_Date: 1999 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Rama Kotra Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Project chief Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: 911 National Center City: Reston State_or_Province: VA Postal_Code: 20192 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 703 648 6271 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 703 648 6383 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: rkotra@usgs.gov Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Heather S.Henkel Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: 600 Fourth St. South City: St. Petersburg State_or_Province: FL Postal_Code: 33701 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 ext 3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2030 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: hhenkel@usgs.gov Resource_Description: geochemistry of metals in organic-rich sediments Distribution_Liability: The data have no explicit or implied guarantees. Standard_Order_Process: Digital_Form: Digital_Transfer_Information: Format_Name: report Digital_Transfer_Option: Online_Option: Computer_Contact_Information: Network_Address: Network_Resource_Name: http://sofia.usgs.gov/publications/ofr/00-327/ Access_Instructions: The Open-File Report containing the data may be downloaded from the SOFIA website Fees: none Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 20070209 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Heather Henkel Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 600 Fourth Street South City: St. Petersburg State_or_Province: FL Postal_Code: 33701 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 ext 3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2030 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: sofia-metadata@usgs.gov Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998