Selected Trace Elements in the Sacramento River, California: Occurrence and Distribution

Abstract

The impact of trace elements from the Iron Mountain Superfund site on the Sacramento River and selected tributaries is examined. The concentration and distribution of many trace elements-including aluminum, arsenic, boron, barium, beryllium, bismuth, cadmium, cerium, cobalt, chromium, cesium, copper, dysprosium, erbium, europium, iron, gadolinium, holmium, potassium, lanthanum, lithium, lutetium, manganese, molybdenum, neodymium, nickel, lead, praseodymium, rubidium, rhenium, antimony, selenium, samarium, strontium, terbium, thallium, thulium, uranium, vanadium, tungsten, yttrium, ytterbium, zinc, and zirconium-were measured using a combination of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. Samples were collected using ultraclean techniques at selected sites in tributaries and the Sacramento River from below Shasta Dam to Freeport, California, at six separate time periods from mid-1996 to mid-1997. Trace-element concentrations in dissolved (ultrafiltered [0.005-μm pore size]) and colloidal material, isolated at each site from large volume samples, are reported. For example, dissolved Zn ranged from 900 μg/L at Spring Creek (Iron Mountain acid mine drainage into Keswick Reservoir) to 0.65 μg/L at the Freeport site on the Sacramento River. Zn associated with colloidal material ranged from 4.3 μg/L (colloid-equivalent concentration) in Spring Creek to 21.8 μg/L at the Colusa site on the Sacramento River. Virtually all of the trace elements exist in Spring Creek in the dissolved form. On entering Keswick Reservoir, the metals are at least partially converted by precipitation or adsorption to the particulate phase. Despite this observation, few of the elements are removed by settling; instead the majority is transported, associated with colloids, downriver, at least to the Bend Bridge site, which is 67 km from Keswick Dam. Most trace elements are strongly associated with the colloid phase going downriver under both low- and high-flow conditions.

Extending the functionality of the slurry ferrihydrite-DGT method: Performance evaluation for the measurement of vanadate, arsenate, antimonate and molybdate in water

“…The average concentrations of four elements in the river acquired by active sampling at am and 5 pm from day 1 to 5 were 2.37 ± 0.02, 3.55 ± 0.04, 3.11 ± 0. 07, and 0.68 ± 0.02 μg L -1 for V, As, Sb and Mo, respectively, which were comparable to those found in the lagoon of Venice (the concentrations of V, As, Sb and Mo were 0.69-3.21, 1.42-2.27, 0.14-0.52, and 6.50-10.62 μg L -1 , respectively) (Turetta et al, 2005) and the Sacramento River in California (the concentrations of V, As, Sb and Mo and are 9.1, 2.8, 0.26, and 2.6 μg L -1 , respectively) (Taylor et al, 2012).…”

Tungsten–molybdenum fractionation in estuarine environments

“…Furthermore, a significant fraction of the nominally dissolved (i.e. filter passing) W is in fact associated with Fe III oxyhydroxide colloids, whereas Mo is carried mainly as truly dissolved MoO 4 2-(aq) (Pokrovsky and Schott, 2002;Stolpe et al 2005;Taylor et al 2012).…”

Dissolved scandium, yttrium, and lanthanum in the surface waters of the North Atlantic: Potential use as an indicator of scavenging intensity

“…If these estimates are reasonable, then these data could support a significant fluvial source of these elements. We were not able to find published Y and La concentrations in rivers in the northeastern United States, so instead we compare with river concentrations in Wales [ Neal , ], the eastern UK [ Neal , ], and the Sacramento River area [ Taylor et al ., ] to have a general idea of possible riverine concentrations for these elements. Of the 39 rivers and tributary sampling locations in those studies, only two had a La concentration above 822 pmol/kg; the median concentration for analyzed rivers in Wales, the eastern UK, and in the Sacramento area was 196, 420, and 36 pmol/kg, respectively; and the overall median concentration was 280 pmol/kg.…”