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Heavy metal and hydrocarbon pollution in recent sediments from Southampton Water, southern England: a geochemical and isotopic study

Heavy metal and hydrocarbon pollution in recent sediments from Southampton Water, southern England: a geochemical and isotopic study
Heavy metal and hydrocarbon pollution in recent sediments from Southampton Water, southern England: a geochemical and isotopic study
A sediment core from Southampton Water, a coastal plain estuary, has been investigated and is shown to provide a record of pollution following the expansion of the Fawley oil refinery in 1949-1951. A combination of heavy metal analyses, the first appearance of hydrocarbon contamination, radiometric dating, and stable Pb isotope ratios have been used to interpret the pollution history in the core. Indications are that following dredging activities, accompanying the refinery expansion, there was a relatively rapid sedimentation rate of ca. 20 mm p.a., which decreased with time to approximately 5 mm p.a. The higher accumulation rate is attributed to the response of the estuary following the major capital dredging works that occurred in 1950-1951. The accumulation rates are used to recalculate concentration profiles to reveal the heavy metal flux to the sediments. Lead isotope data indicate a significant post-1950 use of lead derived from ancient, non-U.K. (Precambrian) ores in local industry.
0013-936X
1288-1296
Croudace, Ian W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Cundy, Andrew B.
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08
Croudace, Ian W.
24deb068-d096-485e-8a23-a32b7a68afaf
Cundy, Andrew B.
994fdc96-2dce-40f4-b74b-dc638286eb08

Croudace, Ian W. and Cundy, Andrew B. (1995) Heavy metal and hydrocarbon pollution in recent sediments from Southampton Water, southern England: a geochemical and isotopic study. Environmental Science & Technology, 29 (5), 1288-1296. (doi:10.1021/es00005a021).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A sediment core from Southampton Water, a coastal plain estuary, has been investigated and is shown to provide a record of pollution following the expansion of the Fawley oil refinery in 1949-1951. A combination of heavy metal analyses, the first appearance of hydrocarbon contamination, radiometric dating, and stable Pb isotope ratios have been used to interpret the pollution history in the core. Indications are that following dredging activities, accompanying the refinery expansion, there was a relatively rapid sedimentation rate of ca. 20 mm p.a., which decreased with time to approximately 5 mm p.a. The higher accumulation rate is attributed to the response of the estuary following the major capital dredging works that occurred in 1950-1951. The accumulation rates are used to recalculate concentration profiles to reveal the heavy metal flux to the sediments. Lead isotope data indicate a significant post-1950 use of lead derived from ancient, non-U.K. (Precambrian) ores in local industry.

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Published date: May 1995

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 191727
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/191727
ISSN: 0013-936X
PURE UUID: 7b535d6c-2c6a-4738-9bcf-ac0f644badfc
ORCID for Andrew B. Cundy: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-4368-2569

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Date deposited: 23 Jun 2011 15:24
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:52

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