Jackson Estuarine Laboratory
Seasonal metal remobilization in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire
Abstract
Concentrations of dissolved iron, manganese, molybdenum, copper, and organic carbon (DOC) were measured in the pore waters from surficial sediments of a temperate estuary to delineate seasonal metal remobilization from 1978 through 1980. Iron and DOC data were collected for 31 months and covaried inversely and exponentially. Iron dissolution occurred during the spring and during periods of active bioturbation with concentrations as high as 18 mg 1−1. Iron values were low during winter due to oxidation to ferric oxides. The lack of active bioturbation during the summer of 1978 allowed for the nearly complete removal of iron as a monosulfide precipitate. However, bioturbation resumed during the summer of 1979 and 1980 and dissolved iron concentrations as high as 10 mg 1−1 were observed at those times. The iron and DOC data were a qualitative measure of bioturbation activity. Dissolved manganese, molybdenum, and copper data were collected for 18 months during 1978 and 1979. All three metals displayed spring maxima covariate with iron, suggesting that they behaved chemically like iron and/or were associated with iron- or manganese-rich phases during this time of the year. In general, manganese and molybdenum varied temporally with iron while copper concentrations mimicked iron variations only during the spring.
Publication Date
9-1-1984
Journal Title
Marine Chemistry
Publisher
Elsevier
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Hines, M.E., W.B. Lyons, P.B. Armstrong, W.H. Orem, M.J. Spencer, H.E. Gaudette, and G.E. Jones. 1984. Seasonal metal remobilization in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire. Marine Chemistry 15:173-187.