Chapter 15 Trace Metals in the Shelf Seas of the British Isles

Abstract

This chapter presents a summary on the occurrence and distribution of trace metals in sea water either individually or in groups in the shelf seas of the British Isles The major processes that influence their behavior and distribution are discussed. The trace metals in sea water are those that occur at concentrations below 1 mg l –1 . They include all the metallic elements, except Na, K, Mg, Ca, and Sr, though not all of them have yet been detected. Apart from a few localities of very limited extent, waters above the sediment interface are oxic, in the region.. The geochemical behavior of the dissolved elements is determined by their tendency to form species that readily remain in solution under these conditions. Elements that exist in forms that are removed only slowly from solution attain rather uniform concentrations in sea water that are similar to or greater than those in the average river water supply to the ocean. They generally show relatively minor variations in coastal waters and even in many estuaries the changes that occur are explained primarily by reduction in concentration related to freshwater dilution.