A FogNet station in Big Creek Reserve in California's Big Sur collects fog.

A cloud of fog accumulating off of California’s coast may be spelling trouble for the food chain.

At the December 2014 American Geophysical Union meeting, researchers discussed evidence that coastal fog is not only expanding in some areas of the Golden State, but that it also called monomethylmercury, according to the National Science Foundation (NSF).

“‘Fog drip’ could deliver unsafe levels of monomethylmercury to upland and near-shore ecosystems along the Pacific Coast,” said atmospheric chemist Peter Weiss-Penzias of the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).

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According to oceanographer Clive Dorman of San Diego State University, between 1960 and 2007 the number of days there was , reports Popular Science. This type of increase is troubling for the ecosystem and in terms of health.

Monomethylmercury tends to . Animals and fish that have ingested low levels of mercury are eaten by larger animals, who eventually end up with a lot of the toxin in their system.

The source of the mercury is still up for debate, however, researchers believe that “ likely make a significant contribution,” according to Weiss-Penzias.

Researchers also believe the monomethylmercury is : dimethylmercury, a gas that is also present in oceans. Most fog is slightly acidic, enough to convert the dimethylmercury into the monomethylmercury, which is then carried inland by the fog where it ends up on various surfaces and enters the food chains.

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Currently, there is no immediate health risk to the public. However, on a larger scale, mercury has been found in plants and animals, which may impact sources of food. Monomethylmercury has been linked to severe health impacts in humans, including kidney failure, birth defects and neurological impairment.

In an NSF-funded project called FogNet, researchers have been from Eureka to Monterey. They are testing for chemical characterization and quantification of fog deposition volume. The project spans from the summer of 2014 to summer 2016.

It remains uncertain whether fog could hold not only mercury, but other toxic elements as well.

"We really don't know," said Weiss-Penzias. "The potentially far-reaching consequences of these results, however, underscore the need to collect fog water in various locations along the coast."

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(Credit: Mark Mervai Photography)