Trace metal remobilization following the resuspension of estuarine sediments: Saguenay Fjord, Canada

The Saguenay Fjord sediments are characterised by high trace metal, organic matter and Fe monosulfide (AVS) concentrations. The presence of important maritime activities, dredging operations around harbour installations, and natural slumpling events contribute to the resuspension of the Fjord sediments, their exposure to an oxidising environment, and the remobilization of a variety of contaminants to the water column. In order to simulate these processes, sediments collected from various depths in a box core recovered on the landward slope of the fjord's interior basin were resuspended in aerated seawater in the laboratory at room temperature. The slurries were sampled at various time intervals over a period of nearly 2000 h and the dissolved Fel Mn and As concentrations were determined. Results of this study indicate that the amount of Fe and As released to the solution is strongly correlated to the acid volatile sulfide (AVS) content of the resuspended sediments. The release of Mn to the water phase, however, appeared to be mainly controlled by the dissolution of a solid phase, other than the Fe monosulfides but soluble in 1 N HCl, to which Mn (II) is associated. This phase could be a Mn carbonate or a mixed Mn-Ca carbonate. The dissolved metal concentrations measured at any time during the resuspension experiments reflect the reactivity of the carrier phases and the competing kinetics of the release and removal mechanisms. Upon their release to solution, Fe, Mn and As were scavenged by the newly precipitated Fe and Mn oxyhydroxides. The differential rate of formation of these phases and removal of associated metals in solution reflects their respective oxidation kinetics. The residence time of As in solution was very similar to that of Mn, implying that it was more efficiently removed with the slowly precipitated Mn oxyhydroxides. This observation is consistent with the faster oxidation kinetics of As (III) to As (V) in the presence of Mn oxyhydroxides. Nevertheless, results of As speciation analyses also suggest that a portion of the solubilized As was adsorbed and possibly oxidised by the rapidly precipitated Fe oxyhydroxides. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.