Mercury > Mercury measures > Mercury in core samples

Historical Deposition of Mercury in Sediment Cores

The Washington State Department of Ecology's (Ecology's) Environmental Assessment Program sampled sediment cores from three Washington lakes in 2006 and 2007 and tested them for mercury flux.

• Wannacut Lake in Okanogan County in Rural Eastern Washington
• Lake Sammamish near Seattle, Washington
• Loon Lake near Spokane, Washington

Puget Sound Ambient Monitoring Program (PSAMP) monitors toxic contaminants in sediments and fish throughout Puget Sound. This page from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife details the program.

• Marine Sediment Monitoring Project is part of PSAMP that analyzes core samples.

Technical reports are available through the "related information" links below.

Related information

History of Mercury in Selected Washington Lakes Determined from Age-Dated Sediment Cores
Quality Assurance Project Plan: Depositional History of Mercury in Selected Washington Lakes Determined from Sediment Cores
Mercury in Lake Whatcom Sediments: Spatial Distribution, Depositional History, and Tributary Inputs
Mercury in Edible Fish Tissue and Sediments from Selected Lakes and Rivers of Washington State, 2003
Washington State Toxics Monitoring Program: Contaminants in Fish Tissue from Freshwater Environments in 2006
Measuring Mercury Trends in Freshwater Fish in Washington State: 2005 Sampling Results
Measuring Mercury Trends in Freshwater Fish in Washington State: 2006 Sampling Results