Research in Microcontaminants & Water Quality

• Goals
• Accomplishments

Coordinator: David E. Armstrong, University of Wisconsin-Madison

This subprogram was developed in response to the Great Lakes problems of chemical contamination and eutrophication excessive algal growth and oxygen depletion due to nutrient pollution. Research focuses on Lake Michigan, but the results of these projects apply to all the Great Lakes and much of the coastal ocean environment.

Some toxic microcontaminants like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) accumulate in aquatic organisms and become concentrated as they move up the food chain. These contaminants pose a potential health threat to aquatic organisms, fish-eating birds and mammals, and ultimately to people who consume Great Lakes fish. Other chemical contaminants may affect lower organisms and alter aquatic food webs and ecosystem health. Research in this subprogram is intended to provide a sound basis for assessing chemical contaminant impacts and managing problem microcontaminants.

Water quality also is affected by excessive algal growth. Algal populations are regulated by nutrient element loading and availability, and by consumption by zooplankton and small fish. Water-quality management requires an understanding of the importance of both essential nutrients and trophic interactions in controlling algal populations.

The expected benefits of this research subprogram are far-reaching. Research on contaminant sources, fate and remediation will help resource managers develop and evaluate remedial action programs and assess ecosystem response time to in-place contaminants. Investigating toxicological responses to contaminants will help managers evaluate the effects of contaminants on fish and amphibians and determine the effect of contaminants on the lake trout stocking program in Lake Michigan.

The fundamental advances in understanding chemical and biological processes ultimately will help us understand the risks these contaminants pose to humans and to freshwater and marine ecological systems. In the Great Lakes region, improved understanding of the fate and effects of contaminants will benefit resource users concerned about exposure to toxic substances and managers developing remedial programs for the resource.

 

The long-range goals of the Microcontaminants and Water Quality Subprogram are to:

• Determine the sources and fate of chemical contaminants and nutrients which degrade water quality or impair ecosystem health in the Great Lakes
• Assess threats to human health and aquatic life posed by chemical contaminants in Great Lakes ecosystems
• Develop technologies and strategies for remediation of areas degraded by chemical contaminants or nutrient overloading.

 

Research priorities and emerging issues addressing the long-range goals of this subprogram include:

Sources and Fate of Contaminants

• Identification and quantification of key physical, chemical and biological processes and mechanisms controlling the transport, distribution and fate of chemical contaminants and nutrients in Great Lakes ecosystems
• Development of information and models needed to assess chemical contaminant behavior, fate and residence times, and ecosystem response to changes in contaminant loadings and in-place contaminant levels
• Assessment of contaminant sources to the Great Lakes, particularly fluxes from contaminated sediments, tributaries and atmospheric deposition.

Effects of Contaminants

• Assessment of contaminant effects on aquatic organisms and food webs, including effects on early development, reproductive success, and/or long-term survival
• Evaluation of contaminant transport through aquatic food webs and associated contaminant exposure to aquatic organisms and humans

 Remediation

• Methods for remediation of contaminated sites in the Great Lakes, particularly technologies for treatment and/or removal of contaminated sediments
• Feasibility and cost:benefit analyses of "virtual elimination" and "reverse onus" policies for contaminants in Great Lakes ecosystems and of alternative management strategies for achieving remediation goals
• Development of approaches for containment or elimination of contaminant sources
• Strategies for surveillance and trend assessment of contaminant levels and water quality.

 

This page created 1995
Last updated 12 December 2000 by Karl
© University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
designed by Tina Yao tlyao@seagrant.wisc.edu

http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/Research/Microcontaminants/research.html

Learn more about toxic contaminants in the Great Lakes basin at