Journal
MARINE POLLUTION BULLETIN
Volume 64, Issue 9, Pages 1799-1808Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.06.001
Keywords
Rare earth elements; Environmental proxy; Acid mine drainage; Estuary pollution; Iberian Pyrite Belt
Funding
- project INTERREG IIIA MEGA-SIG: Monitoring and environmental management of the Guadiana estuary wetlands
- Spanish Ministry of Education and Science [CGL2010-21956-C02]
- Huelva University
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Rare earth elements (REE) were analyzed in surface sediments from the Guadiana Estuary (SW Iberian Pyrite Belt). NASC (North American Shale Composite) normalized REE patterns show clearly convex curvatures in middle-REE (MREE) with respect to light- and heavy-REE, indicating acid-mixing processes between fluvial waters affected by acid mine drainage (AMD) and seawater. However, REE distributions in the mouth (closer to the coastal area) show slightly LREE-enriched and flat patterns, indicating saline-mixing processes typical of the coastal zone. NASC-normalized ratios (La/Gd and La/Yb) do not discriminate between both mixing processes in the estuary. Instead, a new parameter (E-MREE) has been applied to measure the curvature in the MREE segment. The values of E-MREE > 0 are indicative of acid signatures and their spatial distribution reveal the existence of two decantation zones from flocculation processes related to drought periods and flood events. Studying REE fractionation through the E-MREE may serve as a good proxy for AMD-pollution in estuarine environments in relation to the traditional methods. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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