Pre-Construction Biogeochemical Analysis of Mercury in Wetlands Bordering the Hamilton Army Airfield Wetlands Restoration Site
Abstract
Over 90 percent of the coastal wetlands in San Francisco Bay have been lost since the industrial revolution. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is working with the California State Coastal Conservancy and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) to reconstruct wetlands at Hamilton Army Airfield (HAAF) and restore 203 ha of tidal habitat to endangered species such as the clapper rail and the saltmarsh harvest mouse. HAAF has subsided below mean sea level and will require 10 million cu yd of fill material to elevate the site to the point where typical marsh vegetation can colonize and the natural sediment trapping, marsh-building physical dynamics can proceed. Wetlands are believed to be sources of methylmercury (MeHg) production and export, and HAAF represents only 203 ha of the additional 23,300 ha of wetlands to be established around the bay by 2055. Means to mitigate MeHg magnification in bay aquatic food webs are needed but currently unknown. This interim report describes site-specific information collected in 2003 on the geochemical/geophysical, microbial, predominant plant- and animal-related interactions that affect stabilization and mobilization of Hg and MeHg in the sediments/soils of the area.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA439941
Entities
People
- A. J. Bednar
- C. H. Lutz
- E. P. Best
- G. A. Kiker
- H. Hintelmann
- H. L. Fredrickson
- R. A. Price
- R. N. Millward
- R. P. Jones
- V. A. Mcfarland
Organizations
- Engineer Research and Development Center