Abstract
The aim of this study is to separate various fractions of phosphorus in surface sediments of the Amazon continental shelf and compare them with other areas of the Brazilian shelf. Surface sediments were collected from the river-mouth transect (RMT) and open-self transect (OST). The extraction techniques available in the literature have been used to separate the following forms: Fe-PO4, Al-PO4, Ca-PO4, and associated organic matter. The results indicate that the concentrations of phosphorus are uniform in the study area and may be compared with many other nonpolluted environments. Among the inorganic forms, Ca-PO4 is dominant in all the samples, and Fe-PO4 is present in lower concentrations. Al-PO4 is more significant on the Amazon continental shelf than other parts of the Brazilian coast and other coastal environments of the world.
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Silveira, I.M.O., Patchineelam, S.R. Phosphorus fractionation in surface sediments of the Amazon continental shelf. Geo-Marine Letters 16, 24–26 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01218833
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01218833