ISSN:
1573-5125
Keywords:
mercury
;
seasonal inputs
;
sediments
;
Ria de Aveiro
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
Notes:
Abstract Water, suspended particulate matter (SPM) and sediments were collected from the Esteiro de Estarreja (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal), which receives considerable quantities of waste mercury from a chlor-alkali plant. Dissolved and particulate Hg concentrations in the effluent ranged between 4 –167 μg I−1 and 141–3144 μg g−1, respectively, at pH values of 〉10. The effluent plume undergoes significant chemical changes during advection downestuary. The evidence suggested that adsorption of dissolved Hg onto organic-rich SPM was an important process. A maximum sediment Hg concentration of 500 μg g−1 was found about 1.5 km from the discharge, as a result of the settling of Hg-rich SPM. Downestuary Hg concentrations in sediments decline to about 100 μg g−1 at the mouth of the Esteiro. The particle-water interactions are discussed in terms of the transport of dissolved and particulate Hg into the Ria de Aveiro.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF02084227
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