Scientists already know that mercury can be a hazardous neurotoxin to both fish and anglers chowing down on their catches. But a plan to monitor the way the heavy metal cycles through the environment has taken on a new significance at a reservoir in northern Colorado.
Researchers had just finished installing the first-ever rainwater collector on the Front Range to measure mercury鈥攚hen the High Park Fire started burning.
鈥淭rees are living structures that have mercury in them, and when they burn that mercury is released into the atmosphere,鈥� says Jesse Lepak, an aquatic research scientist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
Lepak and colleagues from realized that with the new collector so close to the forest fire, they鈥檇 be able to track the extra mercury in unprecedented detail. The even sent another collector to 鈥攖his time one that could take air samples directly. Along with the rainwater collector, which captures the mercury washed out of the air by rain, the dry collector can give a complete picture of atmospheric mercury levels.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know much about dry deposition,鈥� says Lepak, 鈥渁nd being that we鈥檙e in a very dry climate, it could represent a large contribution to the total mercury that we鈥檙e getting.鈥�
Lepak says they will also be taking water and fish samples from throughout the reservoir to understand the full effects of the fire鈥揳nd whether like Walleye next year.
