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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

An Anaerobic Biosensor Assay for the Detection of Mercury and Cadmium
Published on: December 17, 2018
Characteristics of mercury speciation in Minnesota rivers and streams
Steven J Balogh1, Edward B Swain, Yabing H Nollet
1Metropolitan Council Environmental Services, 2400 Childs Road, St. Paul, MN 55106-6724, USA. steve.balogh@metc.state.mn.us
Abstract:
Patterns of mercury (Hg) speciation were examined in four Minnesota streams ranging from the main-stem Mississippi River to small tributaries in the basin. Filtered phase concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg), inorganic Hg (IHg), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were higher in all streams during a major summertime runoff event, and DOC was enriched with MeHg but not with IHg. Particulate-phase MeHg and IHg concentrations generally increased with total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations but the event data did not diverge greatly from the non-event data, suggesting that sources of suspended sediments in these streams did not vary significantly between event and non-event samplings. The dissolved fractions (filtered concentration/unfiltered concentration) of both MeHg and IHg increased with increasing DOC concentrations, but varied inversely with TSS concentrations. While MeHg typically constitutes only a minor portion of the total Hg (THg) in these streams, this contribution is not constant and can vary greatly over time in response to watershed inputs.
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