Twentieth century overview of heavy metals in the Galician Rias (NW Iberian Peninsula)

Prego, Ricardo; Cobelo-Garcı́a, Antonio

doi:10.1016/s0269-7491(02)00231-2

Cited by 170 publications

(76 citation statements)

References 97 publications

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“…Considering that mercury is a lethal element for the biota, and given its huge bioavailability in the ecosystems (Pereira et al, 1998;Canário et al, 2003;Prego and Cobelo-Garcia, 2003;Mucha et al, 2004;Ramalhosa et al, 2006), it seems imperative to do an in-depth study on the impact of macrofauna on the remobilisation of mercury into the water column. In conclusion, sediments with high organic matter content and high concentration of total iron/manganese and hydrous oxides allow for the efficient retention of trace metals such as mercury (high affinity for particles).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of bioturbation by Hediste diversicolor on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments: A mesocosms laboratory experiment

Cardoso

Lillebø

Lopes

et al. 2008

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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Mercury, with its reactive forms being the most deleterious for the trophic chains, has been identified as a major pollutant in a few confined bodies of the coastal zone. Due to feeding, burrowing, and bioirrigation activities, infauna are known to play a crucial role in the biogeochemical processes of contaminants. The main goal of the present study is to evaluate the effects of Hediste diversicolor bioturbation on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments in a mesocosms laboratory experiment. Additionally, an attempt was made to establish a relationship between the amount of remobilised mercury to the water column and the degree of contamination of the sediments using a mercury contamination gradient.The present experiment demonstrated that the bioturbation activity caused by the gallery-diffuser H. diversicolor did not influence the remobilisation of mercury (in dissolved reactive forms) from the sediment to the water column. The concentration of dissolved reactive mercury in the water column also did not reflect the degree of contamination in the sediments. The results obtained were in accordance with the sediment characteristics of the Mondego Estuary and Ria de Aveiro (Portugal), since they are very rich in organic matter content, iron/manganese total and hydrous oxides. These physicochemical characteristics of the sediments may partially justify the retention of mercury by these systems, even when they are subjected to bioturbation.In conclusion, sediments with high organic matter content and a high concentration of iron/manganese hydrous oxides allowed for efficient retention of mercury, and the bioturbation process did not seem to affect the system. Another conclusion from this study is that the remobilisation of mercury by bioturbation to the water column is not a fast process, requiring more than 24 h. This study constitutes an important work in the area of the effects of bioturbation on mercury remobilisation. Considering the toxicity of mercury for the biota, it is essential to evaluate the real magnitude of mercury processes occurring in estuarine systems in order to obtain essential information on metal behaviour.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of bioturbation by Hediste diversicolor on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments: A mesocosms laboratory experiment

Cardoso

Lillebø

Lopes

et al. 2008

Marine Pollution Bulletin

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“…In order to distinguish the natural copper concentrations from anthropogenic additions in the sediments and to diagnose the contamination level, it is essential to establish a reference background concentration (BC), which is assumed to correspond to the pre-civilization metal concentrations (Prego and Cobelo-García 2003). Therefore, some conditions were followed to obtain a precise quantification of the BC for the sediments of the Galician rias:…”

Section: Background Copper Ranges In Ria Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The selection of the normalizer element cannot be solved by guesswork, but rather on the basis of geochemical characteristics of the river basins flowing to the rias. In this way, Fe can be used as a normalizer metal of Cu because it is an abundant element in the Galician granitic soils (Guitian 1992), its natural concentration in sediments is high (Prego and Cobelo-García 2003), it does not vary due to anthropogenic contributions and it is easy and fast to analyse by Flame AAS. Therefore, iron has already been used as a normalizing element in coastal systems and rias (Macias-Zamora et al 1999, Cobelo-García and Prego 2003a, Chon Lin et al 1998.…”

Section: Background Copper Ranges In Ria Sedimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The biogeochemical cycle of copper in rias was recently surveyed (Prego and Cobelo-García 2003), and the pollution effects were investigated (Fernandez et al 2008, Duran andBeiras 2010). The metal footprint, especially that of copper, in the harbour and shipyard shore-sediments of Vigo Ria was highlighted (Prego et al 2008b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The metal footprint, especially that of copper, in the harbour and shipyard shore-sediments of Vigo Ria was highlighted (Prego et al 2008b). Natural inputs of copper into the Galician rias are usually low (Prego and Cobelo-García 2003). The anthropogenic contributions of dissolved and particulate copper due to sewage from water-treatment plants (136 molCu day -1 ) were found to be one order of magnitude higher than the fluvial supply (15 molCu day -1 ) in early winter in the Ria of Vigo (Santos- Echeandía, et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Copper in Galician ria sediments: natural levels and harbour contamination

Garcia¹,

Bernárdez²,

Prego³

2013

Sci. Mar.

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SUMMARY: Copper distribution, natural background and contamination levels in sediments of the Galician rias were assessed from 389 surface sediment samples and five sediment cores. The natural reference concentration of copper can be estimated using the Cu-Fe relationship obtained from preindustrial sediments of rias: [Cu (mg kg -1 )] / [Fe (g kg -1 )] = 0.55. Severe copper contamination was mainly observed in the harbour, fishing ports and shipyards near shore areas of the Galician coast. Therefore, the rias of Ferrol and Vigo were the most environmentally disturbed, while the northern Galician rias were the least disturbed. The Galician case can be seen as the type of copper contamination due to maritime activities observed in other world harbours.Keywords: metal, sediment, background concentrations, harbour, ria, NW Iberian Peninsula.RESUMEN: El cobrE En El sEdimEnto dE las rías gallEgas: nivElEs naturalEs y contaminación portuaria. -A partir de 389 muestras de sedimento superficial y 5 testigos de sedimento se ha determinado la distribución, concentraciones naturales y niveles de contaminación por cobre en los sedimentos de las rías gallegas. En base a sedimentos preindustriales se ha obtenido una correlación entre hierro y cobre aplicable a las rías: [Cu (mg kg -1 )] / [Fe (g kg -1 )] = 0.55. Al calcular con esta ecuación los factores de enriquecimiento por cobre del sedimento superficial se ha detectado una fuerte contaminación en las zonas portuarias y de astilleros en la costa gallega. Bajo este aspecto son las rías de Ferrol y Vigo las más alteradas mientras que lo contrario ocurre con las rías del norte de Galicia. Este tipo de contaminación por cobre en el noroeste de la península Ibérica se suma a algunos casos derivados del tráfico y construcción de buques observados en otras áreas costeras del planeta.

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Comparison of the acute toxicity of tributyltin and copper to veliger larvae of Nassarius reticulatus (L.)

Silva

Génio

Mendo

et al. 2005

Applied Organom Chemis

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The ban on the use of tributyltin (TBT) is promoting an increasing use of copper as an active biocide in antifouling paints, with consequent rising levels of this metal in the environment. This study assesses the acute toxicity of copper and tributyltin to the larvae of the mollusc gastropod Nassarius reticulatus. Recently hatched veligers were exposed to nominal TBT-Sn concentrations of 0.9, 1.4, 1.9, 2.8, 3.8, 4.7 and 5.6 µg l −1 and nominal copper concentrations of 9.4, 23.4, 46.9, 70.3, 93.8, 117.2, 140.6 and 164.1 µg l −1 for up to 96 h, under static conditions (17 ± 1 • C and 33 ± 1 psu). The percentage of larval mortality was determined for each organometal/metal concentration and exposure time (1, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h). Both TBT and copper had a highly significant effect on larvae survival (p < 0.001) for all times of exposure, except for the first hour in the particular case of TBT. The lowest observed effect concentration for TBT-Sn decreased over time from 3.8 µg l −1 at 24 h to 1.9 µg l −1 at 96 h, whereas for copper it remained constant over time (46.9 µg l −1 ). The median lethal concentration (LC 50 ) for TBT-Sn decreased from 4.87 µg l −1 at 24 h to 1.78 µg l −1 at 96 h, and the LC 50 for copper decreased from 83.08 µg l −1 at 24 h to 58.84 µg l −1 at 96 h. TBT is far more toxic to N. reticulatus larvae than copper. However, owing to the higher copper environmental concentrations, the risk factors of the two biocides may approach each other. This stresses the need to find adequate substitutes for organotin biocides in future antifouling paints.

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Twentieth century overview of heavy metals in the Galician Rias (NW Iberian Peninsula)

Cited by 170 publications

References 97 publications

Influence of bioturbation by Hediste diversicolor on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments: A mesocosms laboratory experiment

Influence of bioturbation by Hediste diversicolor on mercury fluxes from estuarine sediments: A mesocosms laboratory experiment

Copper in Galician ria sediments: natural levels and harbour contamination

Comparison of the acute toxicity of tributyltin and copper to veliger larvae of Nassarius reticulatus (L.)

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