Abstract
Size-normalized (<63 μm) distributions of Cu, Zn, and Pb in the surficial sediments of one of Sydneys' four major estuaries – the Georges River/Botany Bay estuary – are not facies or depositionally controlled, but rather their distribution is dominated by source. Point sources (waste dumps, sewage overflows, and discharge from a polluted river) are responsible for elevating sediment heavy-metal concentrations up to 50 times above background. Nonpoint sources contribute in raising baseline levels to four times background and comprise mainly stormwater and also marinas, moorings, and wharfs/jetties. Heavy metals disgorged from a point source (Cooks River) strongly impact the sediments in the lower estuary, which has implications for the construction of a new runway for Sydney airport.
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Received: 3 October 1994 · Accepted: 21 September 1995
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Birch, G., Evenden, D. & Teutsch, M. Dominance of point source in heavy metal distributions in sediments of a major Sydney estuary (Australia). Environmental Geology 28, 169–174 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/s002540050090
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s002540050090