Behaviour of copper, zinc, iron and manganese during experimental resuspension and reoxidation of polluted anoxic sediments

Abstract

Samples of anoxic intertidal sediments from the Mersey Estuary, north-west England, have been used in laboratory experiments to determine the rates and extents of metal (Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn) releases to solution under conditions of controlled resuspension and reoxidation. An experimental system for the study of sediment-water interactions at various temperatures, salinities, pHs and oxygen concentrations is described. The results indicate rapid initial losses of Fe and Mn from sediment but not Cu and Zn with longer term readsorption of Fe and Mn to give partitioning between the aqueous/ sediment phases for all four metals which is similar to that under the initial anoxic conditions. Cu and Zn show small, but measurable, net losses from the aqueous phase to the reoxidized sediment. Salinity variations exert little influence on the processes observed, but increasing temperature produces increased Cu, Zn and Mn in the dissolved fraction at equilibrium conditions. Exchanges of Cu and Zn between the sediment/water phases are rather insensitive to pH or oxygen concentration, but Fe and Mn do respond to increasing pH which suppresses their initial release on oxidation. Low oxygen concentrations can result in a slow but significant release of Fe. In relation to trace metal pollution in estuaries and biological availability, the results suggest that the resuspension and oxidation of polluted anoxic sediments is not an important process because of scavenging of soluble metals on to the resuspended material.