Abstract
Determination of Zn in the aqueous, suspended and sedimentary phases of the Rhone River was carried out by differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry with static mercury drop electrode. For total desorbable Zn (operationally defined as that measured on unfiltered water at pH 1.5 to 2) the concentration was 2.0 ± 0.6 μg L−1 in unfiltered upstream water (8 stations) and in the unfiltered delta water (2 stations) was 1.05 ± 0.25 μg L−1. The delta values are slightly higher than values found recently for estuaries of other rivers such as the Amazon and Yangtse, but non-delta values correspond mainly with those from relatively unpolluted areas. Overall, in non-delta water about 35% of the Zn was in true solution, 25% adsorbed on suspended material and 40% was in the suspended material but not desorbable. The calculatedK d for Zn on the suspended material was about 2.5E4. The Zn content in suspended matter including adsorbed Zn was 69 ± 33 mg kg−1, much lower than other literature values, and is approximately equivalent to the concentration in fine sediment fractions. The Zn in Rhone river sediment was on average 40 times the amount from nearby non-industrialized areas such as the Roya river.
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Huynh Ngoc, L., Whitehead, N. & Oregioni, B. Distribution of Zn in a Northwestern Mediterranean River. Water Air Soil Pollut 34, 315–324 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00193779
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00193779