Acid volatile sulfide and simultaneously extracted metals in the sediment cores of the Pearl River Estuary, South China

The acid-volatile sulfide (AVS), simultaneously extracted metals (SEM), total metals, and chemical partitioning in the sediment cores of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) were studied. The concentrations of total metals, AVS, and SEM in the sediment cores were generally low in the river outlet area, increased along the seaward direction, and decreased again at the seaward boundary of the estuary. The amounts of AVS were generally greater in deeper sediments than in surface sediments. SEM/AVS was > 1 in the surface sediments and in the river outlet cores. The ratio was < 1 in the sediments down the profiles, suggesting that AVS might play a major role in binding heavy metals in the deep sediments of the PRE. The SEM may contain different chemical forms of trace metals in the sediments, depending on the metal reaction with 1 M cold HCl in the AVS procedure compared with the results of the sequential chemical extraction. The SEM/AVS ratio prediction may overestimate trace metal availability even in the sediments with high AVS concentrations. (c) 2004 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Mobilization potential of heavy metals: A comparison between river and lake sediments

Toxic metals introduced into aquatic environments by human activities accumulation in sediments. A common notion is that the association of metals with acid volatile sulfides (AVS) affords a mechanism for partitioning metals from water to solid phase, thereby reducing biological availability. However, variation in environmental conditions can mobilize the sediment-bound metal and result in adverse environmental impacts. The AVS levels and the effect of AVS on the fate of Cu, Cd, Zn, Ni in sediments in the the Changjiang River, a suboxic river with sandy bottom sediment and the Donghu Lake, a anoxic lake with muddy sediment in China, were compared through aeration, static adsorption and release experiments in laboratory. Sips isotherm equation, kinetic equation and grade ion exchange theory were used to describe the heavy metal adsorb and release process. The results showed that AVS level in the lake sediment are higher than that of the river. Heavy metals in the overlying water can transfer to sediments incessantly as long as the sediment remains undisturbed. The metal release process is mainly related to AVS oxidation in lake sediment while also related to Org-C and Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide oxidation in river sediment. The effect of sulfides on Zn and Ni is high, followed by Cd, and Cu is easy bound to Org-C. AVS plays a major role in controlling metals activity in lake sediment and its presence increase the adsorption capacity both of the lake and river sediments.

Distribution of organic and reduced sulfur forms in marsh soils of coastal Louisiana

Soil samples from a Louisiana Barataria Basin brackish marshes were fractionated into acid-volatile sulfides (AVS), HCl-soluble sulfur, elemental sulfur, pyrite sulfur, ester-sulfate sulfur, and carbon-bonded sulfur. Inorganic sulfur composed 13% of total sulfur in brackish marsh soil with HCl-soluble sulfur representing 63–92% of the inorganic sulfur fraction. AVS represented less than 1% of the total sulfur pool. Pyrite sulfur and elemental sulfur together accounted for 8–33% of the inorganic sulfur pool. Organic sulfur, in the forms of ester-sulfate sulfur and carbon-bonded sulfur, was the most dominant pool representing the majority of total sulfur in brackish marsh. Results were compared to values reported for fresh and salt marshes. Reported inorganic sulfur fractions were greater in adjacent marshes, constituting 24% of total sulfur in salt marsh, and 22% in freshwater marshes. Along a salinity gradient, HCl-soluble sulfur represented 78–86% of the inorganic sulfur fraction in fresh, brackish, and salt marsh. Organic sulfur in the forms of ester-sulfate sulfur and carbon-bonded sulfur was the major constituent (76–87%) of total sulfur in all marshes. Reduced sulfur species, except elemental sulfur, increased seaward along the salinity gradient. Accumulation of reduced sulfur forms through sedimentation processes was significant in marsh energy flow in fresh, brackish and salt marshes.

Authigenic sulfide minerals and their sulfur isotopes in sediments of the northern continental slope of the South China Sea and their implications for methane flux and gas hydrate formation

This is a report of the study of the authigenic sulfide minerals and their sulfur isotopes in a sediment core (NH-1) collected on the northern continental slope of the South China Sea, where other geophysical and geochemical evidence seems to suggest gas hydrate formation in the sediments. The study has led to the findings: (1) the pyrite content in sediments was relatively high and its grain size relatively large compared with that in normal pelagic or hemipelagic sediments; (2) the shallowest depth of the acid volatile sulfide (AVS) content maximum was at 437.5 cm (> 2 mu mol/g), which was deeper than that of the authigenic pyrite content maximum (at 141.5-380.5 cm); (3) delta S-34 of authigenic pyrite was positive (maximum: +15 parts per thousand) at depth interval of 250-380 cm; (4) the positive delta S-34 coincided with pyrite enrichment. Compared with the results obtained from the Black Sea sediments by Jorgensen and coworkers, these observations indicated that at the NH-1 site, the depth of the sulfate-methane interface (SMI) would be or once was at about 437.5-547.5 cm and the relatively shallow SMI depth suggested high upward methane fluxes. This was in good agreement with the results obtained from pore water sulfate gradients and core head-space methane concentrations in sediment cores collected in the area. All available evidence suggested that methane gas hydrate formation may exist or may have existed in the underlying sediments.

胶州湾李村河口区沉积物有机碳、酸可挥发硫化物及重金属的环境响应

本论文以胶州湾李村河口区为研究对象，通过4个沉积柱样的分析测试，对港湾内河口区沉积物中的有机质（TOC）、酸可挥发硫化物(AVS)及重金属的环境响应进行了系统的探讨，发现由于湾内河流流量较小、水动力较弱，且港湾有机生产力较强，只有紧贴河口的细粒（泥质粉砂）区域的有机质才受陆源控制，有机碳含量较高（JZB-2柱平均为1.87%），TOC、AVS与多数重金属（Cd、Cr、Cu、Fe、Pb、Sr、Zn等）呈正相关性，且重金属含量高，反映了在高重金属污染的情况下，有机质对重金属的吸附呈无选择性。而离河口稍远处，沉积物粒度较粗（粉砂），有机碳含量相对较低（JZB-4柱平均为1.02%），C/N大（>>20），C与N的相关性不强，受海、陆双源控制，重金属含量相对较低，TOC仅与Cd、Cu、Sr的活性部分呈正相关，N与Cd、Cr、Pb、Zn的活性部分呈正相关，说明部分重金属组分受陆源有机碳控制，而AVS与Fe、Hg、Zn的SEM部分呈正相关，表明在S的循环中，一些类Fe重金属往往参与其中。并分析了李村河口区的粒度变化特征，并根据有机质、酸可挥发硫化物及重金属的分布规律将河口区三角洲划分为三个区域、五种相带，总结了不同的沉积模式下其不同的环境响应，从而为海陆交互相地区的沉积物早期成岩作用与环境响应研究提供指导与参考。而且在研究的过程中还发现了目前国际通用的沉积物有机碳测定方法中存在着很大的人为误差，并通过系统实验改正了沉积物有机碳的测定方法。