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The Effect of a Large Resuspension Event in Southern Lake Michigan on the Short-term Cycling of Organic Contaminants
Journal article   Peer reviewed

The Effect of a Large Resuspension Event in Southern Lake Michigan on the Short-term Cycling of Organic Contaminants

Jerel J Bogdan, Judith W Budd, Brian J Eadie and Keri C Hornbuckle
Journal of Great Lakes research, Vol.28(3), pp.338-351
2002
DOI: 10.1016/S0380-1330(02)70589-3

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Abstract

In January and March, 1998, a series of intense, northerly wind-driven storms suspended sediment over the entire coastline of the southern basin of Lake Michigan. The effect of large scale resuspension on organic contaminant cycling was investigated using a two-pronged sample collection strategy that included analysis of settling sediment trap material and discrete air and water samples collected before and after a major resuspension event. It was found that major resuspension events result in a large flux of contaminants. For example, 6.2 ng/cm 2 ΣPCB (sum of 89 congener peaks) and 175 ng/cm 2 ΣPAHs (sum of 31 compounds) fell through the water column in the southern basin between November and May but almost half of that occurred in the month of March after a series of intense storms induced a largescale resuspension event in that month. Assuming the concentration of contaminants in settling sediments is similar throughout the basin, the March event brought ∼400 kg of ΣPCBs and ∼13,000 kg ΣPAHs into the water column. Furthermore, the data indicate that concentrations of dissolved phase ΣPCB and ΣPAHs declined significantly (α = 0.05) after the event and after resuspended sediment had settled from the surface waters. As a result of the depressed dissolved concentrations at the surface, the potential for gas-phase input to the lake increases on the southwestern coastal region near Chicago, IL and Gary, IN. The potential input of gas-phase contaminants was 8 kg for ΣPCBs and 2,200 kg for ΣPAHs over the 40-day lifetime of the near-shore event.
PCBs PAHs Lake Michigan gas-phase exchange Resuspension organic contaminants

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