O papel dos sulfetos volatilizados por acidificação no controle do potencial de biodisponibilidade de metais em sedimentos contaminados de um estuário tropical, no sudeste do Brasil The role of acid volatile sulfide in the control of potential metal bioavailability in contaminated sediments from a tropical estuary, southeast Brazil

Abstract

Measurements of acid volatile sulfide (AVS) and simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) were combined in order to verify the ecological hazard of contaminated sediments from the Santos-Cubatão Estuarine System (SE Brazil), which is located in one of the most industrialized areas in the Latin America. Intertidal sediments from the Morrão River estuary were collected seasonally in short cores. The redox conditions, organic matter contents and grain-size were the main controlling factors on SEM distribution. However, clear relationships among these variables and AVS were not observed. The molar SEM/AVS ratios were frequently > 1 especially in the summer, suggesting major metal bioavailability hazard in this humid hot season.

Keywords

• geochemistry of sediments
• sulfides
• trace-metals