Quantification and characterization of chronic inputs of trace metals and organic carbon in a coastal Mediterranean area (the city of Marseille) during the dry season was carried out. The 625 km(2) watershed includes two small coastal rivers whose waters are mixed with treated wastewater (TWW) just before their outlet into the sea. Dissolved and particulate Cu, Pb, Cd, Zn, Co, Ni and organic carbon concentrations in the rivers were comparable to those in other Mediterranean coastal areas, whereas at the outlet, 2- to 18-fold higher concentrations reflected the impact of the TWW. A non-conservative behavior observed for most of the studied metals in the mixing zone was validated by a remobilization experiment performed in the laboratory. The results showed that sorption/desorption processes could occur with slow kinetics with respect to the mixing time in the plume, indicating non-equilibrium in the dissolved/particulate metal distribution. Thus, a sample filtration immediately after sampling is strictly required.

Distributions of trace metals (TM), organic carbon, SPM and physico-chemical parameters were studied in the highly stratified Krka River estuary in winter/summer periods. The nonconservative behaviour of Zn, Cd, Pb and Cu in the brackish layer (plume), easily spotted due to very low inputs by the river, was mainly caused by their inputs from the pleasure boats, nautical marinas and harbour (e.g. release from antifouling paints). Contrarily, Ni and Co followed near-conservative behaviour. The extremely low SPM discharged by the river,

The evaluation of contaminant net fluxes from the coast to the open sea requires the study of terrigeneous particles behaviour and fate. We studied the particles issued from two small coastal rivers whose waters are mixed with treated wastewater (TWW) coming from the Marseille wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) just before discharge to the Mediterranean Sea. An experimental device was developed and used to investigate particles settling rates, size distribution and metallic contamination when mixing with seawater. The particles were sampled in flood deposits of rivers and outlets during rainy periods and in the outlet water during dry periods. The flood deposits were mainly composed of 50-200 μm-sized particles, higher metals content being observed in the finest fractions. Dry period particles showed the stronger influence of wastewater inputs.

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