| A University of Alberta student has discovered that forest fires can contaminate lakes and creeks with dangerously high levels of mercury, a problem she says will become even more pressing in the future because climate change is expected to increase the number of forest fires.
Erin Kelly, who presented her findings at the Banff Mountain Summit on November 25, says fighting fires may not be an easy solution to the problem. Mercury being released by forest fires mainly comes from coal-burning industrial emissions which accumulate in soil – and the longer an area goes without a major forest fire, the more mercury accumulates in the soil.
Kelly studied mercury levels in 37 lakes in Jasper, Banff, Yoho and Mount Robson National Parks in 2000 and 2001. A forest fire erupted around one of the lakes she studied – Jasper’s Moab Lake – in 2000. Kelly discovered mercury levels were approximately six times higher in this lake than in the 36 other lakes she studied where there hadn’t been a forest fire.
Kelly also studied two creeks which flowed through forest fire areas and compared them with two creeks which weren’t in burn areas. She discovered "substantially higher" mercury levels in the two creeks where recent forest forests had broken out.
She also discovered that the mercury was quickly being absorbed into the ecosystem –which means it may have an impact on humans.
"There are species of fish in Moab Lake that are over consumption limits of mercury," she says.
"There hasn’t been much research done on this topic and there needs to be research done because of the possible impact on human health."
Her research has raised more questions about the impact of global pollution – which is already a huge environmental problem – and about the ways governments manage and control wildfires.
Kelly says more fires are expected in the coming years because of a warming climate, and her findings should have an impact on whether governments decide to fight all fires or to let some natural burns take place.
"Climate change is going to cause more forest fires because of drier conditions," says Kelly.
"One of the Canadian government’s mandates in fire suppression. If you don’t let fires burn you have more mercury." |
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