Metals and acid volatile sulfide in sediment cores from the Sergipe River Estuary, Northeast, Brazil

• Published in: Journal of the Brazilian Chemical Society Vol. 18; no. 4; pp. 748 - 758
• Main Authors: Alves, José do Patrocínio H., Passos, Elisângela de Andrade, Garcia, Carlos A. B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Química 2007
• Subjects: CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY; acid volatile sulfide; heavy metals; simultaneously extracted metals; sediments
• ISSN: 0103-5053; 1678-4790
• DOI: 10.1590/S0103-50532007000400013

Acid volatile sulfide (AVS), simultaneously extracted metals (SEM) and metals were studied in sediment cores from the Sergipe River Estuary, Brazil. AVS and SEM concentrations were, in general, higher in the core sediments from areas which receive a higher anthropic contribution due to urban pollution. In these cores, the sulfide seemed to be the main connection for the metals. In the core obtained from the area of major marine influence, the most important binding phases for the metals seemed to be associated with organic matter and carbonates. The AVS profiles allow identification of two types of sedimentation processes in the estuary. In all cores SEM/AVS ratios were much lower than 1.