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High-resolution profiles of trace metals assessed by DGT techniques in lake sediment porewaters

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Abstract

The technique of diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) was applied to obtain high-resolution vertical profiles of trace metals in sediment porewater of a eutrophic lake, Lake Chaohu. All sampling sediments were under anaerobic conditions with Eh values below 0, the redox potential profile in M4 was relatively stable, and higher Eh values in M4 than that in M1 were observed due to hydrodynamic effects. Fe, Mn and As exhibited closely corresponding profiles due to the co-release of Fe and Mn oxides and the reduction of As. Higher Fe and Mn concentrations and lower As concentrations were observed in M1 of the western half-lake than those in M4 of the eastern half-lake due to different sources and metal contamination levels in the two regions. Cu and Zn showed increasing concentrations similar to Mn and Fe at 1–2 cm depth of sediments, while DGT measured Co, Ni, Cd and Pb concentrations decreased down to 3–4 cm in the profiles. Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb showed insignificant regional concentration variances in the western and eastern half-lakes. According to the R(C DGT/C centrifugation) values, the rank order of metal labilities decrease as follows: Fe (>1) > Cu, Pb, Zn (>0.9) > Co, Ni, Cd (>0.3) > Mn, As (>0.1).

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by the Mega-projects of Science Research for Water Environment Improvement (Program No. 2012ZX07101-002) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41303085).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai, China

    Jiahui Xu & Yunfeng Xu

  2. State Key Laboratory of Environmental Criteria and Risk Assessment, Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Science, Beijing, 100012, China

    Jiahui Xu, Jingtian Zhang, Shouliang Huo, Beidou Xi & Zhuoshi He

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  1. Jiahui Xu
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  2. Jingtian Zhang
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Correspondence to Shouliang Huo.

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Xu, J., Zhang, J., Huo, S. et al. High-resolution profiles of trace metals assessed by DGT techniques in lake sediment porewaters. Environ Earth Sci 76, 319 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-017-6642-5

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