{"id":20430,"date":"2020-03-23T07:59:15","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T11:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=12334"},"modified":"2024-08-15T13:02:13","modified_gmt":"2024-08-15T17:02:13","slug":"coastal-currents-spring-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/coastal-currents-spring-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Coastal Currents: Mercury on the Rise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

Yener Ulus is investigating how mercury changes from its inorganic form \u2014 which is less likely to transfer to animals or people \u2014 to a more toxic form when saltwater begins invading freshwater wetlands.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As sea levels continue to rise with each passing year, researchers increasingly are focusing their attention on how the change may impact coastal wetlands. While there is an abundance of research on the effects of sea level rise on the coast, few studies have addressed how rising seas might affect deposits of mercury, an environmental pollutant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yener Ulus, a Ph.D. student in environmental health sciences at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, is tackling the question of mercury\u2019s impacts on freshwater coastal wetlands. With support from a joint NorthCarolinaSeaGrant\u2013WaterResources Research Institute graduate research fellowship, he is investigating how mercury changes from its inorganic form\u2014which is less likely to transfer to animals or people\u2014to a more toxic form when saltwater begins invading freshwater wetlands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe already know there is mercury pollution,\u201d Ulus says. \u201cBut we don\u2019t know what this perturbation would look like with sea level rise, hurricanes, storm surges, and floods.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mercury is present in almost every waterbody and is one of the most common pollutants in North Carolina\u2019s freshwater fish. Thus, it potentially threatens the health of people consuming those fish. However, the form of mercury dictates the level of threat that this pollutant poses to ecosystems and to human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When saltwater invades freshwater wetlands, it can carry abundant sulfate into these systems, which sets off a chain reaction in the wetland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are sulfate-reducing bacteria that use the sulfate,\u201d Ulus explains. \u201cAs a byproduct it converts inorganic mercury into organic mercury \u2014 which we call methyl mercury, the most toxic form. This methyl mercury is in the water, sediment, the plankton, small insects, fish, and eventually humans who eat the fish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Into the Field \u2014 and Hurricane Dorian<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When he gathers samples to study, Ulus and his team must drive five hours from Greensboro to his wetland study sites in Dare and Tyrrell counties. He dedicates up to five more hours to collecting sediment, water, and biota samples, then makes the return drive back to his lab. Even when Hurricane Dorian made its way to North Carolina\u2019s coasts, he visited his sites for samples prior to the storm surge, while local towns were evacuating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne week after the hurricane passed, we went back to collect samples,\u201d he says. \u201cSo, basically that gave me a chance to see how methyl mercury will vary when you have excessive amounts of sea water intrusion from storm surge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Ulus, those results were \u201camazing.\u201d There was, indeed, an increase in methyl mercury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a clearer picture of the methyl mercury levels in the water and sediment at his wetland sampling sites, Ulus is beginning to ad- dress how the food chain, in turn, might reflect these levels. He hopes to sample more biota from his wetland sites to understand how methyl mercury moves through the food web, which he believes is essential for understanding how the toxin may affect human communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
With a clearer picture of the methylmercury levels in the water and sediment at his wetland sampling sites, Yener Ulus is beginning to address how the food chain, in turn, might reflect these levels.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Blue Herons, Bears, and Spreading the Word<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ulus grew up in Arsuz, Turkey, a small green town near the Mediterranean Sea that relies on fishing and farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI wanted to be the person who saves the environment,\u201d he says, \u201cwhile also being a good influence to those around me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He takes his research outside of his lab and field sites to spread awareness about mercury pollution in coastal areas. As a volunteer with UNCG\u2019s Science Everywhere program, he teaches students from kindergarten to high school about mercury as a pollutant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Tyrrell County, one of the poorest counties in North Carolina and the location of one of his sampling sites, Ulus says many people don\u2019t know about mercury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, one of my purposes is to explain what\u2019s going on in their own community about mercury pollution,\u201d he explains. \u201cBecause most of them have no idea about that.\u201d He contacted the town manager in Columbia, North Carolina, on the Albemarle-Pamlico Peninsula, about the need to inform town officials and residents about mercury pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ulus also presented his research in Poland at the 14th International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant. In addition, he has presented and discussed his findings with government representatives and communities in his home country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ulus, protecting human health is paramount, but he also emphasizes the obligation to protect and preserve wildlife and natural beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should provide a good environment for any wildlife,\u201d Ulus says. \u201cWhen I go [to my wetland sampling sites] I see the blue herons \u2014 they are flying. Or I see the bears! This is our treasure, you know?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch Yener Ulus at UNCG\u2019s \u201cThree- Minute Thesis\u201d event. His presentation earned honors in the People\u2019s Choice category<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Carolina Sea Grant fellowships<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

Related<\/h2>
\n Spring 2020 Issue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/svg><\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As sea levels continue to rise with each passing year, researchers increasingly\u00a0are focusing their attention on how the change may impact coastal wetlands.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":12351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-immersive.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ncst_custom_author":"Maya Hoon","ncst_show_custom_author":true,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-immersive-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"custombg_one\",\"displayCategoryID\":579,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"Will sea level rise affect toxic mercury levels in coastal wetlands?\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","ncst_content_audit_display":false,"ncst_backToTopFlag":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[578,591,579],"tags":[],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[753],"class_list":["post-20430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-578","category-climate-change","category-spring-2020"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":579,"name":"Spring 2020","slug":"spring-2020","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":580,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":578,"count":10,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCoastal Currents: Mercury on the Rise - Coastwatch<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Will sea level rise affect toxic mercury levels in coastal wetlands? 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