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Effect Of Overlying Water Ph, Dissolved Oxygen, Salinity And Sediment Disturbances On Metal Release And Sequestration From Metal Contaminated Marine Sediments, Clare Atkinson, Dianne F. Jolley, Stuart L. Simpson

Faculty of Science - Papers (Archive)

Experiments were undertaken to examine the key variables affecting metal release and sequestration processes in marine sediments with metal concentrations in sediments reaching up to 86, 240, 700, and 3000mgkg1 (dry weight) for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn, respectively. The metal release and sequestration rates were affected to a much greater extent by changes in overlying water pH (5.58.0) and sediment disturbance (by physical mixing) than by changes in dissolved oxygen concentration (38mgl1) or salinity (1545 practical salinity units). The physical disturbance of sediments was also found to release metals more rapidly than biological disturbance (bioturbation). The rate of oxidative …