Geochemical behaviour of major and trace elements in dissolved and particulate phases of the Bouregreg river (Morocco)

Abstract

The Bouregreg river is one of the main rivers of Morocco, Its source being located in the Moroccan Central Massif and flows towards the Atlantic coast through the coastal Meseta. The Bouregreg river basin is located in the Moroccan Central Massif which consists mainly of Palaeozoic formations that were subject to the Hercynian orogeny. To evaluate the environmental status of the Bouregreg river water, sampling of the dissolved ( 0.22 μm) phases was performed at 10 sites along the Bouregreg river and its tributaries in the winter of 2005. Major (Na, Ca, K, Ti, Mn, Al and Fe), trace (As, Ba, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Hf, Li, Mo, Nb, Ni, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sc, Sn, Sr, Ta, Th, U, V, W, Y, Zn and Zr) elements and rare earth elements were analysed. The dissolved and particulate phase of the Bouregreg river draining these contrasting zones show similar characteristics to those observed in other major tropical rivers such as the Congo and Amazon, and vary in composition between the different source areas. Obtained data show that the spectra of the standardized concentrations for all the determined elements in the dissolved and the suspended phase have the same form whatever the station and that the whole of the elements is strongly deficient compared to the upper continental crust. The strong depletion in the suspended phase and the associated enrichment in the dissolved phase suggest that some elements such as Rb, Ba and Sr are the most mobile elements during the weathering processes. The removal of the most mobile elements from the bedrock concentrates all remaining elements in the weathered phases of the soils, from whence it can be removed mechanically. As and Sb are strongly enriched as well in the dissolved load as in the suspended load.