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Trace metals in sediments near offshore oil exploration and production sites in the Alaskan Arctic

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Increased offshore development in the Alaskan Arctic has stimulated interest in assessing potential impacts to the environment before the onset of any adverse effects. Concentrations of trace metals in sediments are used in this paper to provide one sensitive indicator of anthropogenic inputs from offshore activity over the past several decades. Sediments in coastal waters of the western Beaufort Sea are patchy with respect to sediment granulometry, organic carbon content, and concentrations of trace metals. However, results for surface sediments and age-dated cores show that nearly all samples contain natural concentrations of Ag, Ba, Be, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Tl, V and Zn, with metal/Al ratios that have been constant for many decades. Metal concentrations for incoming river-suspended matter compare well with sediment metal values and, along with vertical distributions in sediments, show no discernible diagenetic impacts that distort the sedimentary record for metals, except for Mn, As and possibly Cd. Slightly elevated concentrations of Ba, Hg, Ag, Sb and Zn were observed in a total of eight instances or in only 0.7% of the 1,222 data points for metals in surface sediments.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Captain Mark Mertz for his efforts in sample collection and Simone Metz for her assistance with some of the metal analyses and in subsequent discussions. Paul Boehm's continued efforts and inputs to the program are greatly appreciated. Special thanks to Dick Prentki and Cleve Cowles of MMS, Anchorage, for continued discussions and support, as well as assistance in the field. The study was supported by Minerals Management Service (Contract No. 143501-99-CT-30998).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Marine & Environmental Systems, Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, FL , 32901, USA

    John H. Trefry, Robert D. Rember & Robert P. Trocine

  2. Battelle Coastal Resources and Environmental Management, Waltham, MA , 02451, USA

    John S. Brown

Authors
  1. John H. Trefry
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  2. Robert D. Rember
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  3. Robert P. Trocine
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  4. John S. Brown
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Correspondence to John H. Trefry.

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Trefry, J.H., Rember, R.D., Trocine, R.P. et al. Trace metals in sediments near offshore oil exploration and production sites in the Alaskan Arctic. Env Geol 45, 149–160 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0882-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-003-0882-2

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