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Evaluating Copper Behavior in Urban Surface Waters Under Anthropic Influence. A Case Study from the Iguaçu River, Brazil

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Abstract

The goal of this work was to investigate the changes in copper behavior in Iguaçu River, a body of water strongly affected by urban inputs. This work was carried out in a subtropical Brazilian watershed suffering with high loads of raw sewage discharges from the Metropolitan Region of Curitiba. A comparison between sampling sites located upstream and downstream from the urban region revealed that human inputs are able to modify the water chemistry of the river in a short distance basis, that is, approximately nine miles. Probably, the most important alterations were the creation of an anaerobic environment as well as the enhancement of humic-coated suspended solids. These two aspects were determinant to explain the high concentrations observed for particulate copper (57% of total recoverable copper) and dissolved copper sulfide species (13%) in the water column. Copper in the sediment was also higher in the downstream site, probably due to the sedimentation of the Cu-enriched particles. However, copper sulfides at the bottom sediment may also be a potential source for the metal in the water column due to the creation of anaerobic conditions in both compartments. Labile copper concentration was not affected by the changes in water chemistry. Despite the fact that sewage discharges motivate the enhancement of organic matter, but not the increase in potential complexing agents, additional ligands such as chloride, carbonates, and anthropogenic dissolved organic ligands can be now computed as a part of the labile fraction.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and to Fundação Araucária de Apoio ao Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico do Paraná for the financial support. We also thank Prof. ACB Dias for revising the manuscript data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Chemistry, University of Brasília, PO Box 4478, Brasília, DF, 72919-910, Brazil

    Fernando F. Sodré

  2. Department of Chemistry, Federal Institute of Paraná, Palmas, PR, 85555-000, Brazil

    Danielle C. Schnitzler

  3. Department of Chemistry, State University of Ponta Grossa, Ponta Grossa, PR, 84030-900, Brazil

    Elizabeth W. O. Scheffer

  4. Department of Chemistry, University of Paraná, PO Box 19081, Curitiba, PR, 81531-990, Brazil

    Marco T. Grassi

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  1. Fernando F. Sodré
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Correspondence to Fernando F. Sodré.

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Sodré, F.F., Schnitzler, D.C., Scheffer, E.W.O. et al. Evaluating Copper Behavior in Urban Surface Waters Under Anthropic Influence. A Case Study from the Iguaçu River, Brazil. Aquat Geochem 18, 389–405 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-012-9162-7

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