Mercury in epiphyte-retained suspension of the Nura River (Kazakhstan) as an indicator of technogenic pollution

We used an epiphyte-retained suspension, i.e., a suspension precipitated on macrophytes, for estimating the scale of tecnhogenic pollution of rivers b y mercury. Epiphyte-retained suspension, an active concentrator of mercury, reflects the influence of various sources supplying this metal to water st reams and indicates the extension of polluted zones. In epiphyte-retained s uspensions and technogenic silts the species of mercury transform during it s migration and redistribution. Two geochemically opposite processes are re vealed - a more pronounced increase in the relative content of very mobile compounds and a less marked increase in the share of very stable species of mercury.