Trace metal cycling in the Whau Estuary, Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Environmental context. The accumulation of trace metals from urban runoff is a serious environmental concern. In the present paper we show that, in the case of the Whau Estuary, Auckland, New Zealand, there is a significant particulate Zn input, of which a significant amount of Zn is lost from the particulate phase into the dissolved phase within the water column, and via molecular diffusion across the water–sediment interface. The present study shows that changes in the chemical speciation of Zn, associated with changes in salinity, play a major role in regulating the recycling of this metal between the particulate and dissolved phases. Abstract. Dissolved Zn, Cd, Cu, Fe, and Pb concentrations were measured along a salinity gradient in the Whau Estuary, Auckland, New Zealand. We found a mid-salinity maximum in dissolved Zn and Cd concentrations, consistent with significant loss of these metals from the particulate phase into the dissolved phase. Changes in the chemical speciation of these two metals were coupled to changes in salinity and this was the major driver for Zn and Cd loss from particulate material. Contrastingly, Cu concentrations were conservative with salinity, whereas there was significant scavenging of Fe and Pb from the dissolved phase into the particulate phase. Analysis of sediment pore-water metal concentrations indicated a peak in Zn concentration within the suboxic layer. The peak occurred at a shallower depth than those for Mn and Fe. The concentration gradient across the sediment–water interface suggests that diffusional loss of Zn from the sediment pore water into the overlying water column was occurring. Conversely, the diffusion of Cu from the water column into the sediment pore water was likely to occur because pore-water Cu concentrations were lower than the overlying water column concentrations. The results from the present study show the importance of chemical speciation and the lability of metals attached to particulate material as potentially being a critical determinant on sediment metal concentrations.