P. C. Van Metre 2012 <p><span>Atmospheric deposition of Hg is the predominant pathway for Hg to reach sensitive ecosystems, but the importance of emissions on near-field deposition remains unclear. To better understand spatial variability in Hg deposition, mercury concentrations were analyzed in sediment cores from 12 lakes with undeveloped watersheds near to (&lt;50&nbsp;km) and remote from (&gt;150&nbsp;km) several major urban areas in the United States. Background and focusing corrected Hg fluxes and flux ratios (modern to background) in the near-urban lakes (68&nbsp;±&nbsp;6.9&nbsp;μg&nbsp;m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;yr</span>⁻¹<span>&nbsp;and 9.8&nbsp;±&nbsp;4.8, respectively) greatly exceed those in the remote lakes (14&nbsp;±&nbsp;9.3&nbsp;μg&nbsp;m</span>⁻²<span>&nbsp;yr</span>⁻¹<span>&nbsp;and 3.5&nbsp;±&nbsp;1.0) and the fluxes are strongly related to distance from the nearest major urban area (</span><i>r</i>²<span>&nbsp;=&nbsp;0.87) and to population and Hg emissions within 50–100&nbsp;km of the lakes. Comparison to monitored wet deposition suggests that dry deposition is a major contributor of Hg to lakes near major urban areas.</span></p> application/pdf 10.1016/j.envpol.2011.11.003 en Elsevier Increased atmospheric deposition of mercury in reference lakes near major urban areas article