Methylmercury (MeHg) is a bioavailable neurotoxin known to biomagnify in the aquatic food web. MeHg is produced by sulfate reducing bacteria, iron reducing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea in the anoxic water column and sediments. Anoxic freshwater environments are thus sources of MeHg production, though this process is predominantly studied in wetlands and lakes. MeHg cycling has rarely been studied in ponds, yet ponds are globally abundant, biodiverse, and support ideal conditions for MeHg production. This research aims to unveil the drivers of mercury cycling in 16 temperate ponds (ranging from 2-6 m deep) across two ecoregions of upstate New York. We sampled each pond twice during summer 2025 (June and August). We took vertical temperature and oxygen profiles to quantify stratification strength at each sampling event and used temperature loggers to record thermal stratification throughout July. At each sampling event, we collected sediment from the pond’s deepest point and collected surface and bottom water. Water was analyzed for total mercury, MeHg, major cations and anions, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), SUVA254, trace elements, and iron speciation. Sediment was analyzed for total mercury, MeHg, and loss on ignition (a proxy for organic matter content). All ponds were summer stratified, with most (12/16) already exhibiting bottom water anoxia in June and all exhibiting bottom water anoxia in August. In June, total mercury concentrations did not differ significantly between surface and bottom waters. By contrast, August bottom waters exhibited significantly higher total mercury concentrations than surface waters, indicating that length of stratification influences mercury cycling in ponds. Across sampling events, aqueous total mercury concentrations were positively correlated with DOC, suggesting allochthonous loading of carbon-bound mercury. Our next steps include analyzing sediment and water for MeHg. We expect to see high variability in bottom water and sediment %MeHg between ponds, and higher %MeHg in August than in June due to increased stratification strength. Our results will provide new insight into mercury cycling in ponds, allowing for a greater understanding of the threat MeHg poses to organisms in these ecosystems.