Interactions with Ligands, Particulate Matter and Organisms

Abstract

A rough description of the occurrence and behaviour of trace metals in aquatic and terrestrial systems is presented in Fig. 5. In the aquatic environment four abiotic reservoirs are distinguished: the suspended matter, the sediments, the surface waters and the pore waters. These four reservoirs strongly interact with each other. Between the suspended matter and the metals in solution, adsorption/desorption and (co-)precipitation processes take place. The suspended matter and the deposited sediments are interlinked through sedimentation and erosion processes. Processes taking place after deposition (diagenesis) provide the interstitial waters with sometimes high concentrations of trace metals, which through processes such as diffusion, consolidation and bioturbation are able to influence the metal concentrations in the surface waters.