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Heavy-metal pollution of sediments from the Polish exclusive economic zone, southern Baltic Sea

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Environmental Geology

Abstract

Analysis of 59 surface sediment samples from the Polish exclusive economic zone (EEZ) shows that Szczecin Lagoon sediments are the most polluted by heavy metals and that the degree of heavy-metal pollution decreases substantially on passing from the Szczecin Lagoon to the Pomeranian Bay and the inner shelf area and then on passing to the Bornholm Deep and Słupsk Furrow. Heavy-metal pollution in the sediments of the western part of the Polish EEZ therefore appears to follow the dispersion of the Oder River. Fluffy material from the Oder estuary appears to be the main source of heavy metals in the muddy sediments of the Bornholm Deep. The formation of sulphides is therefore not the principal factor controlling the enrichment of heavy metals in the sediments of this anoxic basin, although it may be responsible for the uptake of Mo, Sb and As. Two main factors control the distribution of the rare earth elements (REE) in sediments of the Polish EEZ: the input of Fe-organic colloids from rivers and the presence of detrital material in the sediments.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the award of a grant from the Royal Swedish Academy, Stockholm, which enabled J.G. to analyze the samples studied here by ICP-MS in the Department of Analytical Chemistry of Umeå University. We thank Dr S. Uscinowicz of the Polish Geological Institute for interesting discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical University of Gdansk, al. Gen. J. Hallera 107, 80-416, Gdansk, Poland

    P. Szefer & J. Geldon

  2. Department of Geochemistry, GZG, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 1, 37077, Gottingen, Germany

    G. P. Glasby

  3. School of Mathematical and Computing Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    R. M. Renner

  4. Department of Analytical Chemistry, Umeå University, 901 87, Umeå, Sweden

    E. Björn, J. Snell & W. Frech

  5. Department of Oceanography, Sea Fisheries Institute, ul. 1 Kołłątaja, 81-332, Gdynia, Poland

    J. Warzocha

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  1. P. Szefer
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Szefer, P., Glasby, G.P., Geldon, J. et al. Heavy-metal pollution of sediments from the Polish exclusive economic zone, southern Baltic Sea. Environ Geol 57, 847–862 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00254-008-1364-3

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