Geochemistry of rare earth elements in the dissolved,acid-soluble and residual phases in surface waters of the Changjiang Estuary |
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| Authors: | Zhong-Liang Wang Cong-Qiang Liu |
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| Institution: | (1) State Key Laboratory of Environmental Geochemistry, Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guanshui Road 46, Guiyang, 550002, China |
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| Abstract: | The concentrations of rare earth elements in the dissolved, acid-soluble and residual phases in surface waters of the Changjiang
Estuary were determined using ICP-MS. The main purposes of the study are to understand the estuarine geochemistry of rare
earth elements and to explore water-particle interactions in the Changjiang estuarine mixing zone. The results show that there
are two distinct processes operating on dissolved rare earth elements in the estuary: large scale removal at low salinities
due to salt-induced coagulation and remarkable release at mid to high salinities. These processes result in modification of
the effective river water flux and the systematical fractionation of the dissolved rare earth elements toward the East China
Sea. The increase in concentration of dissolved rare earth elements in the mid to high salinity waters of the Changjiang Estuary
suggests a sediment source in the mixing zone of the estuary, which is located over a shallow, broad shelf where there is
extensive physical contact between bottom sediment and estuarine waters. Acid-soluble rare earth elements, the concentrations
of which also dropped sharply in the low salinity region, appear to be controlled by salt-induced coagulation process and
intense deposition of suspended particulate matter in the low salinity region. In the mid to high salinities, all acid-soluble
rare earth element concentrations increase slightly with increasing salinity, suggesting that resuspension of sediments occurred.
In contrast, the residual rare earth element concentrations are relatively constant with salinity variation in the Changjiang
estuarine surface waters. |
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| Keywords: | Rare earth elements Changjiang Estuary removal release fractionation |
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