Historical impact in an estuary of some mining and industrial activities evaluated through the analysis by TTPIXE of a dated sediment core

Abstract

In previous works it was found that sediments from the Huelva estuary (SW of Spain) are contaminated due to some mining and industrial activities that are concerned with the extraction of pyrites and the production of fertilizers. In the present study we have evaluated the evolution of this estuarine contamination during the last two centuries, when the most relevant episodes of the activities mentioned have occurred. To this end we collected a sediment core in the Huelva estuary, which was dated applying radiometric techniques. Some layers of this core were analysed by TTPIXE. The obtained elemental profiles correlate with the temporal evolution of the mining activities during the last 150 years, and also reflect the impact of the industrial activities since the 1960s. Additionally, the contamination in P (due only to the industrial activities), S, Fe, Cu, Zn, As and Pb was extracted and evaluated.