Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Arsenic Mobility During Flooding Of Contaminated Soil: The Effect Of Microbial Sulfate Reduction, Edward Burton, Scott Johnston, Benjamin Kocar

Associate Professor Edward D Burton

In floodplain soils, As may be released during flooding-induced soil anoxia, with the degree of mobilization being affected by microbial redox processes such as the reduction of As(V), Fe(III), and SO42–. Microbial SO42– reduction may affect both Fe and As cycling, but the processes involved and their ultimate consequences on As mobility are not well understood. Here, we examine the effect of microbial SO42 reduction on solution dynamics and solid-phase speciation of As during flooding of an As-contaminated soil. In the absence of significant levels of microbial SO42– reduction, flooding caused increased Fe(II) and As(III) concentrations over a 10 week …

Seawater Inundation Of Coastal Floodplain Sediments: Short-Term Changes In Surface Water And Sediment Geochemistry, Vanessa Wong, Scott Johnston, Edward Burton, Phillip Hirst, Leigh Sullivan, Richard Bush, Mark Blackford

Associate Professor Edward D Burton

Coastal floodplains are highly vulnerable to seawater inundation as a result of storm surge and sea-level rise due to their low elevation and proximity to the coastline. Intact soil cores from a levee, acid-sulfate soil scald and four backswamp sites on a coastal floodplain in eastern Australia were inundated with artificial seawater treatments (0%, 50% and 100%) for 14 days to examine the short term consequences for surface water and floodplain sediment geochemistry. All sites displayed an initial decrease in surface water pH following inundation with 50% and 100% seawater. In addition, higher concentrations of trace metals (Al, Fe, Mn, …

Arsenic Mobilization In An Alluvial Aquifer Of The Terai Region, Nepal, Jasmine Diwakar, Scott Johnston, Edward Burton, Suresh Das Shrestha

Associate Professor Edward D Burton

Study Region

A shallow (<50 m) alluvial aquifer in the Terai region of Nepal.

Study Focus

We examine the hydrogeochemical characteristics of a shallow alluvial aquifer system in the Terai region (Nawalparasi district) to identify possible mechanisms and controls on geogenic As mobilization in groundwater. Groundwater and river water samples from a topo-gradient flow-path and floodplain of a minor river draining the Siwalik forehills were analyzed for physico-chemical parameters.

New Hydrological Insights for the Region

The aquifer is characterized by Ca-HCO₃ type water and is multi-contaminated, with the WHO guideline values exceeded for As, Mn and F in 80%, 70% and 40% of cases respectively. The middle portion …

A Revised Method For Determining Existing Acidity In Re-Flooded Acid Sulfate Soils, Scott Johnston, Edward Burton, Roslyn Hagan, Thor Aaso, Gerard Tuckerman

Associate Professor Edward D Burton

Titratable actual acidity (TAA) is a technique commonly used to estimate the existing pool of exchangeable H⁺ in acid sulfate soils (ASS). A widely adopted version of the TAA method involves titrating a 1M KCl suspension of oven-dry soil (1:40) with NaOH to a known pH endpoint. However, when ASS are subject to long term re-flooding during wetland remediation, former sulfuric horizons can develop substantial quantities of porewater Fe²⁺, non-sulfidic solid-phase Fe(II) and a variety of reduced inorganic sulfur (RIS) species (e.g. pyrite, mackinawite, greigite and elemental sulfur). For these sediments, an oven-drying approach may induce oxidation …

Enrichment And Heterogeneity Of Trace Elements At The Redox-Interface Of Fe-Rich Intertidal Sediments, Annabelle Keene, Scott Johnston, Richard Bush, Edward Burton, Leigh Sullivan, Matthew Dundoon, Angus Mcelnea, C Smith, Col Ahern, Bernard Powell

Associate Professor Edward D Burton

Redox-interfacial sediments can undergo radical geochemical changes with oscillating tides. In this study, we examine trace element enrichment and availability, at both landscape and pedon-scales, in the surface sediments of a remediating acidic tidal wetland. Fe-rich sediments at the surface-water interface (0–10 mm in depth) were collected across an elevation gradient spanning the supratidal to subtidal range. These sediments were analysed for solid phase Fe fractions and trace elements (As, Pb, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Zn, V, B, Co, Mo, Ba and U) via dilute HCl-extractions and total digests. Their concentrations were compared with those of underlying (0.05–0.65 m in …

Landslide-Induced Iron Mobilisation Shapes Benthic Accumulation Of Nutrients, Trace Metals And Ree Fractionation In An Oligotrophic Alpine Stream, Scott Johnston, Andrew Rose, Edward Burton, Jenny Webster-Brown

Associate Professor Edward D Burton

Large alpine landslides that entrain substantial organic material below the water table and create suspended floodplains may have long-term consequences for the mobilisation of redox sensitive elements, such as Fe, into streamwaters. In turn, the cycling of iron in aquatic systems can influence the fate of nutrients, alter primary productivity, enhance accumulation of trace metals and induce fractionation of rare earth elements (REE). In this study we examine a reach of a pristine oligotrophic alpine stream bracketing a 30 year-old landslide and explore the consequences of landslide-induced Fe mobilisation for aqueous geochemistry and the composition of benthic stream cobble biofilm. …