Mobile Arsenic Distribution and Release Kinetics in Sediment Profiles under Varying pH Conditions

Abstract

The release of arsenic (As) from sediments poses a risk to human health especially at high pH levels. Despite this, the distribution and kinetic response of mobile As remains unclear under varying pH conditions. In this study, a microcosm incubation experiment was performed, using sediment cores in combination with dialysis (Peeper) and thin film diffusive gradients (DGT), to investigate the distributions of mobile As (soluble As in pore water and DGT-labile As) at high vertical resolutions (2–4 mm). Results show that the concentrations of soluble As present in the water column increased 1.5-fold with an increase in pH from 5.4 to 11.2. Both soluble As in pore water and DGT-labile As exhibited stable low-level distributions in the uppermost layer beneath the sediment-water interface, followed by increasing concentration distribution with decreasing layers to middle depths. The mean concentrations of mobile As species increased with increased water pH in both sediment profiles and with upward diffusion gradients, showing a 0.2-fold increase of soluble As in the top 20-mm layer and a 0.6-fold increase in deeper 20–52-mm layers, while DGT-labile As showed a 1.0- and 1.1-fold increase in these two layers, respectively. Modeling of DGT-induced flux in sediments (DIFS) showed that the desorption rate constant increased more rapidly than the absorption rate constant, resulting in the increased availability of solid As pools, therefore resupplying the soluble As in pore water from sediments.