Cesium-137, metals and organic carbon in the sediments of the James River estuary, Virginia

Abstract

A wide variety of sedimentary subenvironments are found within a 10-km stretch of James River including a flood dominated channel (Rocklanding Channel) and its bank (Rocklanding Shoal), a shoal with a water depth of 1 m separating two channels (Point of Shoals), an ebb-dominated channel (Burwell Bay Channel) and its bank (Burwell Bay Bank) and a tributary (Warwick River). The concentrations of Cs-137, Cu, Pb, Zn and organic carbon in the fine-grained sediments (i.e. < 63 μm) and the amount of fine-grained sediments in eight cores covering these subenvironments were determined. The sedimentation rates, estimated by Cs-137 geochronology, range from 0·4 to > 3 cm year −1. The sedimentation rates in the Burwell Bay region are two or more, times those in the Point of Shoals and in the Rocklanding Channel and Shoal, reflecting the weaker currents in the Burwell Bay region. These sedimentation rates agree well with those obtained independently by measuring changes in the bathymetry of this area between 1873 and 1943. The concentrations of Cs-137, Cu, Pb, Zn and organic carbon in surface sediments vary by a factor of two to three. The concentrations are higher in the Burwell Bay region, probably as a result of the higher rates of accumulation of recently formed sediments in these subenvironments. The inventories of fine-grained sediments and of Cs-137, Cu, Pb, Zn and organic carbon accumulated since 1954 are also up to an order of magnitude higher in the Burwell Bay region. Although the concentrations of fine-grained sediments in three cores obtained in this region are similar, the inventories still vary by a factor of two to three. The inventories of Cs-137, Cu, Pb, Zn, organic carbon and fine-grained sediments correlate well with each other indicating that Cs-137 can be a useful tracer for studying the fate of these metals and organic carbon in estuarine environments. The inhomogeneity of the concentrations and inventories of the different elements along a 10-km segment of a river suggests that a closely-spaced sampling programme is essential for characterizing the sedimentary provinces within an estuary. The concentrations of Cs-137, metals and organic carbon in the coarse-grained sediments (i.e. > 63 μm) are considerably lower than those in fine-grained sediments. Thus, the contribution of coarse-grained sediments to the total inventory of these elements is small.