Heavy metals in sediments from San Antonio Bay and the northwest Gulf of Mexico |
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| Authors: | John H Trefry Bob J Presley |
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| Institution: | (1) Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, 77843 College Station, Texas, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Sediments from San Antonio Bay, the northwest Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi River Delta were acid leached and analyzed
for Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cu and Ni by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In order to account for differences in sediment
clay, carbonate, and organic matter content, metal concentrations were normalized to Fe. Significant linear correlations of
metals to Fe were obtained for unpolluted sediments and deviations from these “natural” statistical populations were found
for areas thought to have metal input caused by man.
San Antonio Bay sediments show little evidence of metal pollution despite 70 years of shell dredging in the bay. However,
the San Antonio-Guadalupe River system, the bay's prime sediment source, has 10% to 50% higher than natural levels of Pb,
Cd and Cu.
Sediments from a 1500 km2 area of the Mississippi River Delta have Pb and Cd concentrations 10% to 100% higher than expected levels. The vertical distribution
of Pb and Cd in these sediments suggests that inputs have occurred during the past 30 to 40 years. We find no indication of
metal pollution in other areas of the Delta or along the continental shelf of the northwest Gulf of Mexico. |
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