Application of a chemical leach technique for estimating labile particulate aluminum, iron, and manganese in the Columbia River plume and coastal waters off Oregon and Washington

Abstract

In order to determine the total concentration of bioavailable trace metals in seawater, measurement of both the dissolved and labile particulate fractions is necessary. Comparison of labile particulate metal concentrations from various researchers is limited because of differing definitions of the fraction that is potentially available to phytoplankton on a time frame of generations. A comparison experiment was conducted on coastal and riverine suspended particulate matter to determine the difference between several commonly used techniques that operationally define the labile particulate trace metal fraction. Furthermore, we compared two leach techniques for surface transect samples from within the Columbia River plume and water offshore of Oregon and Washington, United States. The particulate trace metal concentration in the leachate was determined by high‐resolution inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. From this comparison, one chemical leach was chosen to best define the labile particulate fraction of Al, Fe, and Mn: a weak acid leach (25% acetic acid at pH 2) with a mild reducing agent (0.02 M hydroxylamine hydrochloride) and a short heating step (10 min 90–95°C). This leach was applied to three surface transects within the Columbia River plume. These coastal waters were found to be rich in labile particulate trace metals that are directly delivered from the Columbia River and indirectly supplied via resuspension from upwelling over a broad continental shelf.